White House Responds to Reports Saying Pelosi Will Visit Taiwan

The White House on Monday said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has the “right to visit Taiwan” amid reports she may touch down in the country this week and as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) issued several warnings.

“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit, consistent with longstanding U.S. policy, into some sort of crisis or conflict,” Pentagon spokesman and White House National Security Council communications director John Kirby told reporters Monday, adding “has the right to visit Taiwan” and that “nothing has changed” about U.S. policy in the region.

Pelosi has not confirmed or denied potentially visiting Taiwan, which has been self-governed since 1949 and sees itself as a sovereign country. The CCP has long claimed that the island nation belongs to it despite Taiwan having never been ruled by the Chinese regime.

Both CNN and the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that Pelosi will head to Taiwan, although the timing remains unclear. Pelosi’s office declined to comment to several media outlets on those reports, coming a day after she announced a trip to several Asian nations without mentioning Taiwan.

“The speaker has not confirmed any travel plans and it is for the Speaker to do so, and her staff,” Kirby added. “We won’t be commenting or speculating about the stops on her trip … Congress is an independent branch of government.”

CCP officials on Monday warned that the Chinese military would not “sit idly by” if Pelosi visited the island. In a readout of a call last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that the United States would be “playing with fire” if it happened.

“China appears to be positioning itself to take further steps in the coming days and perhaps over longer time horizons,” Kirby said Monday. “Nothing about this potential visit

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