London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan right after Malaysia, despite China’s warnings

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan right after Malaysia, despite China’s warnings

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia, according to a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, despite warnings from Biden administration officials, who are worried about China's response to such a high-profile visit.
The stop - the first for a US House speaker in 25 years - is not currently on Pelosi's public itinerary and comes at a time when US-China relations are already at a low point.

The Taiwanese official added that she is expected to stay in Taiwan overnight. It is unclear when exactly Pelosi will land in Taipei.

The US official added that Defense Department officials are working around the clock on monitoring any Chinese movements in the region and securing a plan to keep her safe.

During a regular foreign ministry briefing Monday, China warned against the "egregious political impact" of Pelosi's planned visit to the self-governing island that China claims as a part of its territory and reiterated that its military "won't sit by idly" if Beijing feels its "sovereignty and territorial integrity" is being threatened.

"We would like to tell the US once again that China is standing by, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never sit idly by. China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters, when asked about the fallout from Pelosi leading a congressional delegation to Taipei.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Monday that the Biden administration will support Pelosi on a trip to Taiwan.

"We want to make sure that when she travels overseas, she can do so safely and securely and we're going to make sure of that. There is no reason for the Chinese rhetoric. There is no reason for any actions to be taken. It is not uncommon for congressional leaders to travel to Taiwan," Kirby told CNN's Brianna Keilar on "New Day."

"We shouldn't be as a country -- we shouldn't be intimidated by that rhetoric or those potential actions. This is an important trip for the speaker to be on and we're going to do whatever we can to support her," Kirby continued.

Asked if the US was prepared for fallout with China over the visit, Kirby said that "there is no change to our policy. No change to our focus on trying to keep a free and safe and open Indo-Pacific."

The issue of Taiwan remains one of the most contentious. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed it at length in a two-hour-and-17-minute phone call on Thursday, as tensions mounted between Washington and Beijing.

"The question of Taiwan is the most sensitive, important core issue in China-US relations," said Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang at the Aspen Security Forum in July.

While Biden has said publicly the US military did not believe it was a good time Pelosi to visit Taiwan, he has stopped short of telling her directly not to go, according to two sources.

Administration officials have worked over recent weeks to apprise the House speaker of the risks of visiting the democratic, self-governing island of 24 million residents, including in briefings from Pentagon and other administration officials. But Biden did not believe it was his place to tell her she should not go, and he has avoided commenting publicly about her trip since his initial statement on July 21.

Biden said last month that the US military opposed Pelosi visiting Taiwan, though since then has refused to elaborate on the warnings. The White House has said it is up to the House speaker where she travels.

Still, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently said he'd discussed a visit to Asia with Pelosi.

The administration takes extra care for Pelosi's security when she travels overseas because she is in the presidential line of succession.

Administration officials are concerned Pelosi's trip comes at a particularly tense moment, as Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term at the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for that conference in the coming weeks, putting pressure on the leadership in Beijing to show strength.

Officials also believe the Chinese leadership doesn't completely grasp the political dynamics in the United States, leading to a misunderstanding over the significance of Pelosi's potential visit. The officials say China may be confusing Pelosi's visit with an official administration visit, since she and Biden are both Democrats. Administration officials are concerned that China doesn't separate Pelosi from Biden much, if at all.

Pelosi has long been a critic of the Chinese Communist Party. She has met with pro-democracy dissidents and the Dalai Lama -- the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who remains a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. In 1991, Pelosi unfurled a black-and-white banner in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to commemorate victims of the 1989 massacre, which said, "To those who died for democracy." In recent years, she voiced support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The Chinese embassy to the United States has objected to her expected trip, which was planned for April before Pelosi tested positive for Covid-19, urging members of Congress to tell the speaker not to make it.

"I would say there's been a full-court press from the Chinese embassy to discourage a trip to Taiwan," Washington Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen, the co-chair of Congress' US-China working group, told CNN. "I just don't think it's their business to tell us what we ought to be doing. That was my message back."

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the US, responded that his office is in "regular contact" with members of Congress, including Larsen.

"On the Taiwan question, we have made our stance loud and clear," Pengyu said. "The Embassy is making all our efforts to prevent the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the stability of China-US relations being damaged by the potential visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan."

"We hope serious consequences could be avoided," he added. "This is in the common interests of both China and the US."

Many Democrats and Republicans in Congress said it was Pelosi's right to travel to Taiwan.

"It is Speaker Pelosi's decision alone on whether or not to travel to Taiwan, not any other country," said Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood, Larsen's Republican counterpart on the US-China working group. "In our democratic system -- we operate with separate but equal branches of government."

"It is inappropriate for foreign governments, including the Chinese government, to attempt to influence the ability or the right to travel for the speaker, members of Congress, or other US government officials to Taiwan or anywhere else around the world," he added.

Other members appeared to be more cautious about the diplomatically sensitive trip.

California Democratic Rep. Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, said she has "always supported Taiwan."

But when asked whether a Taiwan trip now would send the wrong message, Chu said, "You could look at it two ways.

One is that the relationships are very strained right now. But on the other hand, you could say maybe that's when Taiwan also needs to be shown the strength and the support."

When asked what she thought, she said, "I leave it up to those who are going to make that decision."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×