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China Slams Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit As ‘Extremely Dangerous’

China Slams Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit As ‘Extremely Dangerous’
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_timeone year ago
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By Staff, Agencies

China slammed the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan as “extremely dangerous,” warning that the trip was a threat to stability in the region.

Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday on a trip she claimed demonstrated the United States’ solidarity with the self-governed island, which China claims as its own.

Washington does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state.

Pelosi explained her reasons for visiting Taiwan in an editorial published in the Washington Post minutes after she arrived on the island.

“We cannot stand by as the CCP [the Chinese Communist Party] proceeds to threaten Taiwan – and democracy itself,” she claimed in the opinion piece.

Pelosi – the highest-ranking US official to travel to Taiwan in 25 years – arrived at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei on a flight from Malaysia to begin a visit that risks pushing US-Chinese relations to a new low.

Her delegation was greeted by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, and Sandra Oudkirk, the top US representative in Taiwan.

China immediately condemned Pelosi’s visit, with the foreign ministry saying it seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The visit “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said in a statement.

“These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it,” the statement read.

Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait before Pelosi’s arrival. The Chinese military has been put on high alert and will launch “targeted military operations” in response to her visit, the defense ministry said.

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command announced that it will conduct joint air and sea drills near Taiwan starting on Tuesday night, and test-launch conventional missiles in the sea east of Taiwan.

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