TAIPEI, Taiwan, August 2 — United State of America House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, defying China warnings against visiting the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its territory and setting the stage for a sharp escalation in tensions between China and the United States. Pelosi touched down at Taipei’s Songshan airport at 10:44 p.m. local time.
Pelosi’s visit has enraged China, which for years has sought to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and views such exchanges with high-level foreign dignitaries as support for the island’s formal independence. The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy home to 23 million people, as its territory despite never having ruled it. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pledged to “reunify” Taiwan with China by force if necessary.
