Nancy Pelosi Taiwan visit: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed Taiwan on Wednesday after meeting with the president and other officials in a visit that heightened tensions with China.
Pelosi and five other members of Congress were headed to South Korea, the next stop on an Asia tour that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
In Taiwan, she said her delegation was showing their commitment to the self-governing island that China claims and says must come under its control. China staged military drills after her arrival and called her visit a provocation that infringes on its sovereignty. Nancy Pelosi leaves Taiwan amid massive China protest.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi departed Taiwan on Wednesday after meeting with the president and other officials in a visit that heightened tensions with China. Pelosi and five other members of Congress were headed to South Korea, the next stop on an Asia tour that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
In Taiwan, she said her delegation was showing their commitment to the self-governing island that China claims and says must come under its control.
China's protest
China staged military drills after her arrival and called her visit a provocation that infringes on its sovereignty. Shortly after Pelosi landed, China announced live-fire drills that would start Tuesday night and a four-day exercise beginning Thursday in waters on all sides of the island. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, announced multiple military exercises around the island and issued a series of harsh statements after the delegation touched down in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, on Tuesday night.
Meets Taiwan President
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen met United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and welcomed her to the country. Thanking Pelosi for her decades of support for Taiwan, Tsai presented the speaker with a civilian honour, the Order of the Propitious Clouds. “Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down,” Tsai said. “We will firmly uphold our nation's sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defence for democracy,” she added.
