{"id":1568698,"date":"2022-07-24T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-07-24T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1568698"},"modified":"2022-07-24T08:51:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-24T12:51:02","slug":"pelosis-trip-to-taiwan-draws-chinas-ire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pelosis-trip-to-taiwan-draws-chinas-ire\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelosi\u2019s Trip to Taiwan Draws China\u2019s Ire"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpelosis-trip-to-taiwan-draws-chinas-ire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1568698&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div id=\"modal-ready\">\n<h2 class=\"modal-title has-text-align-center\">Pelosi\u2019s big trip to Taiwan draws ire from China \u2014 and White House<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>China <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3185773\/us-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-reported-visit-taiwan-august\">warned<\/a> earlier this week that it would take \u201cresolute and forceful measures\u201d if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi followed through on her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/09669099-1565-4723-86c9-84e0ca465825\">reported plans<\/a> to visit Taiwan next month.<\/p>\n<p>Pelosi had previously planned to go to Taiwan in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3173520\/china-warns-us-nancy-pelosi-visit-taiwan-would-cross-red-line\">April<\/a>, but the visit was postponed after she tested positive for Covid-19. News about the plan for the August trip first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/09669099-1565-4723-86c9-84e0ca465825\">appeared<\/a> in The Financial Times<em> <\/em>on Tuesday, which prompted an outcry from the Chinese government. If she goes, she would be the first Speaker of the House to visit since Newt Gingrich traveled there in 1997.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>President Biden also seemed to question the wisdom of the trip, but he presented the objection to Pelosi\u2019s visit as coming from military officials rather than directly from him. \u201cThe military thinks that it\u2019s not a good idea right now,\u201d Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/07\/20\/biden-pelosi-trip-taiwan-china-military-00047031\">said<\/a> on Wednesday in response to a reporter\u2019s question.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In this case, the military is right. While there is an understandable desire to show support for Taiwan in response to increasing tensions with China, Pelosi\u2019s visit would be a serious mistake that would likely make things worse. Sending one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials to Taiwan is bound to be very provocative, and it would expose Taiwan to additional risks for the sake of nothing more important than a glorified photo op.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Quincy Institute\u2019s Michael Swaine <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dalzell60\/status\/1549765961703727104?s=20&#038;t=IENvvzZEsOvwlRY8ni0I_w\">summed up<\/a> the problems with the proposed visit: \u201cPelosi visiting Taiwan is such a bad idea it\u2019s hard to know where to begin in criticizing it. She is a senior member of the United States government. There is no upside to such a visit and only downsides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmprc.gov.cn\/mfa_eng\/wjdt_665385\/wshd_665389\/202204\/t20220408_10665741.html\">denounced<\/a> Pelosi\u2019s proposed April visit as a \u201cmalicious provocation,\u201d and nothing has changed in the months since then that would make the Chinese government tone down its criticism. If anything, U.S.-Chinese relations are worse now than they were a few months ago, as the Chinese government has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-06-19\/us-rejects-china-s-claims-over-taiwan-strait-as-concerns-grow\">said<\/a> that it does not regard any part of the Taiwan Strait as international waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. rejects the Chinese position and U.S. naval vessels have been transiting through the Strait repeatedly, much to Beijing\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3185954\/china-decries-provocations-after-us-destroyer-sails-through?module=topics_int&#038;pgtype=homepage\">annoyance<\/a>. Tensions are already high enough that it would be ill-advised to poke the Chinese government in the eye with a major visit. This is probably what informed the military advice that Biden mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>Top Congressional leaders usually do not go to Taiwan, because whatever benefit might be derived from such a visit is not worth the backlash from Beijing that will follow. A visit by Pelosi or any high-ranking official amounts to goading the Chinese government publicly, and that all but guarantees an adverse reaction to the detriment of both the U.S. and Taiwan.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>New Gingrich\u2019s visit to Taiwan took place in a very different time. The United States had just faced down China during the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Third_Taiwan_Strait_Crisis\">Taiwan Strait crisis<\/a> the previous year, and the U.S. was near the height of the so-called \u201cunipolar moment.\u201d The Chinese government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/1997\/4\/3\/19304329\/china-says-it-s-confused-by-newt-s-visit-to-taiwan\">response<\/a> to Gingrich\u2019s visit was much more muted than its rhetoric about Pelosi has been. China is much more powerful and assertive today than it was in 1997, and the U.S. is in relative decline. We should not assume that the Chinese reaction to a Pelosi visit would be the same now as it was then.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whatever Pelosi\u2019s intentions might be, the consequences could be dangerous. That could take the form of economic punishment or increased military activity that would put additional strain on Taiwan. Any punitive measures taken by China would then further sour U.S.-China relations. That would impair our governments\u2019 ability to engage constructively on other issues of global concern, including climate change and the ongoing pandemic. It is entirely possible that the U.S. could wind up blundering into another crisis in the Taiwan Strait if it is not much more careful than it has been recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, controversy over Pelosi\u2019s visit threatens to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2022-07-21\/pelosi-s-taiwan-date-is-a-headache-for-biden-and-xi-jinping\">overshadow<\/a> Biden\u2019s upcoming virtual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-07-20\/biden-says-he-expects-to-talk-to-china-s-xi-within-next-10-daus?srnd=premium&#038;amp%3Bsref=6ZE6q2XR&#038;utm_source=substack&#038;utm_medium=email\">meeting<\/a> with Chinese President Xi Jinping. There has been speculation that Biden might reverse at least some of the Trump-era China tariffs in a bid to combat inflation, but if he does so now then he runs the risk of being attacked for \u201cbacking down\u201d in the face of Chinese threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The tariffs mainly harm Americans, so those attacks would be absurd, but the politics of the China policy debate are anything but rational. Xi will also be less inclined to compromise if he thinks that Washington is preparing to embarrass him with a high-profile official visit to Taiwan a week or two later.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The report of Pelosi\u2019s planned visit also comes in the wake of other visits to Taiwan by former top officials, including former Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us-former-top-diplomat-pompeo-arrives-taiwan-calls-it-great-nation-2022-03-02\/\">Mike Pompeo<\/a> and former Secretary of Defense Mike Esper. During his visit, Esper called for an end to U.S. \u201cstrategic ambiguity.\u201d Coming so soon after Esper\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taipeitimes.com\/News\/front\/archives\/2022\/07\/20\/2003782072\">remarks<\/a>, a Pelosi visit would likely be interpreted as another step in the direction of making an explicit U.S. commitment to Taiwan\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Given that the president already erroneously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-61548531\">declared<\/a> in May that the U.S. has a commitment to fight for Taiwan, there is considerable confusion about the Biden administration\u2019s policy on this question. The apparent lack of coordination between Biden and Pelosi over the August visit has only added to that confusion.<\/p>\n<p>Because news of Pelosi\u2019s planned visit leaked out in advance, the U.S. is already paying some of the costs for the trip before it has even been announced. If Pelosi now decides not to go to Taiwan, she and Biden will be accused by China hawks of \u201ccaving\u201d to Beijing. The Biden administration has been wary of antagonizing hawkish critics on most issues, so it might end up endorsing a Pelosi visit despite its misgivings.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0In response to Chinese criticism, there will be a temptation to send Pelosi to Taiwan to defy their government without regard for the reaction that it causes. It would have been better if the trip had never been suggested, and it would be foolish to go through with it out of some misguided sense of pride.<\/p>\n<p>Managing U.S.-Chinese relations is one of the most important foreign policy tasks that our government has, and it is damaging for both countries and for the region when the relationship is managed in such a confused and slapdash way. The Biden administration needs to clarify what its China policy is, and it needs to make sure that the president doesn\u2019t freelance and invent new commitments on the fly.<\/p>\n<p>Biden should privately appeal to Pelosi to drop the idea of going to Taiwan, and he also needs to coordinate more closely with Congress to avoid more of these unwanted surprises in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2022\/07\/23\/are-gulf-states-starting-to-embrace-iran\/\" title=\"Are Gulf states starting to embrace Iran?\"><br \/>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Whether or not the nuclear deal is revived, Washington too will need to rethink its standard policy of isolating Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2022\/07\/22\/will-iraqs-regional-diplomatic-initiatives-challenge-the-abraham-accords\/\" title=\"Will Iraq\u2019s regional diplomatic initiatives challenge the Abraham Accords?\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-06-26T142159Z_2011874021_RC2QZU9FTT3H_RTRMADP_3_IRAQ-IRAN-240x140.jpg\" class=\"attachment-240x140 size-240x140 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Baghdad\u2019s multilateral approach appears more inclusive and productive than the divisive Arab-Israeli pacts meant to confront Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2022\/07\/22\/diplomacy-watch-putins-tehran-trip-brought-good-news-on-grain-crisis\/\" title=\"Diplomacy Watch: Ukraine, Russia agree to restart grain shipments after Turkey-led talks\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/diplowatchfinal-240x140.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-240x140 size-240x140 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p>If the deal holds, the world may dodge the worst of a food crisis that threatens to starve millions across the globe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/2022\/07\/21\/the-us-will-gain-nothing-by-declaring-russia-a-terror-state-experts\/\" title=\"The US will gain nothing by declaring Russia a terror state: experts\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022-05-01T000000Z_1453970683_MT1ABCPR808119006_RTRMADP_3_ABACA-PRESS-240x140.jpg\" class=\"attachment-240x140 size-240x140 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Observers say Pelosi\u2019s suggested move may be cathartic but could do more harm than good in the long run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pelosi\u2019s big trip to Taiwan draws ire from China \u2014 and White House China warned earlier this week that it would take \u201cresolute and forceful measures\u201d if Speaker of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1575341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1568698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1568698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1568698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1575341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1568698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1568698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1568698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}