The spokeswoman for the US Congress and number three in the Government could land on the island this Tuesday with a delegation from the House
For the first time since 1997, the second person in line of succession to the White House may land in Taiwan this Tuesday, at a time of maximum tension. China threatens to retaliate if that happens. On Saturday it carried out intimidating maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and the Pentagon approaches its ships. What need is there to create another conflict?
On that, everyone agrees. Where the parties differ is whose fault it is. Congressional spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi had already planned this Asian tour for last April, when the covid disease forced her to postpone it. Many believe that her main mistake was announcing it, instead of just landing by surprise. From there, the US and China have been stuck in a dead end, where any concession will be seen as a sign of weakness.
On Thursday, President Xi Jinping got in front of the screen to speak virtually with Joe Biden, in the fifth call of his presidency. It was about explaining to him what that visit would mean for China and warning him that he will take “forceful measures” if Pelosi and his congressional delegation set foot on the island. It would be like “playing with fire,” he warned her. The call lasted nearly two and a half hours.
China is preparing to interpret the visit of a high-ranking US government official as “a unilateral change” in the “One China” policy with which President Richard Nixon established a status quo of “strategic ambiguity” with respect to Taiwan. That allowed him to reestablish relations with the Asian giant, which accepted the US position of supporting Taiwan without recognizing an independence that not even the UN establishes.
election tactic
Xi made things very clear to Biden, but he forgot about the sacrosanct separation of powers in American democracy. As a traditional politician who has spent his life in the Senate, Biden respects the independence of Congress and also knows that Pelosi cannot afford an image of weakness towards China in an election year by avoiding the stoppage, under pressure from the communist government. The congresswoman from San Francisco will renew her position in November, in a district where more than 32% of the population is Asian.
In California, politics with Taiwan is not something exotic and alien, but the reality that divides many families. Just in May, a Taiwanese of Chinese origin opened fire in the assembly hall of a church in Laguna Woods, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, leaving one dead and five wounded, before the congregants exhibited techniques of martial arts by snatching both weapons from him with an electrical extension cord. The pastor took the opportunity to hit the gunman with a chair. David Wenwei, a 68-year-old Taiwanese, resented the separatists whom he accuses of stealing his country’s Chinese identity.
In the last year, Biden has twice reiterated his commitment to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese military attack, but many suspect that the Pentagon is not prepared to get involved in a military conflict of these dimensions, particularly when it has another open front with Russia in Ukraine. Nor was Pelosi’s visit on the agenda. The spokeswoman for Congress has intentionally left her out, although this Monday different Taiwanese media assured that he will arrive on the island this Tuesday. The CNN chain says it has been confirmed through sources in the White House, which is logically aware of the plans.
Asked about the “forceful measures” with which he threatens if the visit takes place, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, was just as cryptic as Pelosi. “We think the US has gotten the message. Let’s wait and see if he dares to go », he cut short.
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