Despite multiple warns of unspecified countermeasures from China, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, a democratic island which China claims territory, on August 2, 2022. This was the highest-ranking U.S. official in a quarter-century to visit the island.
Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has significant meanings. First, it shows the U.S. commitment to ensure the safety of the democratic island. Pelosi explained her visit prior to the landing, praising Taiwan's commitment to the democratic government while criticizing China as having dramatically increased tensions with Taiwan in recent years.
Second, it poses a strong stance towards China's human rights abuses. The visit occurred at a time when China is brutally cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong and the mainland, and its illegal treatment of Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities, which the United States has deemed genocide. Third, it is a firm response to China's authoritarian aggression, both economically and militarily. In a White House briefing after Pelosi's arrival, national security spokesman John Kirby said "China might engage in "economic coercion" toward Taiwan, and the United States is bound by American law to provide it (Taiwan) with the means to defend itself.
Since 2019, there have been several legislative leaders from Western democracies visited Taiwan, including President of the Czech Senate, parliamentary leaders of Poland, and lawmakers from Lithuanian. No doubt that U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan reinforces the support of democracy from Western legislative entities.
I call on democratic leaders, at all levels and branches, to keep supporting democracy against China's authoritarianism.
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