Pelosi Begins Asia Trip, a Big Question Looming

Will she go to Taiwan? House speaker's itinerary makes no mention of a stop
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 31, 2022 8:15 AM CDT
Pelosi Begins Asia Trip, a Big Question Looming
A man uses a magnifying glass Sunday to read a newspaper headline at a stand in Beijing reporting on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Asia trip.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Nancy Pelosi begins a trip to Asia on Sunday, but the question on everyone's mind is still unanswered: Will she go to Taiwan? A statement issued by her office on Saturday lists stops in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan, but it has no mention of Taiwan, reports the New York Times. That, however, doesn't mean the House speaker and her small congressional delegation won't make what Reuters reports would be a "dramatic" visit, even if it's a short and symbolic one.

Chinese officials—who view the self-governing democracy as part of China—have made clear they would view any such trip by a high-ranking US official as a provocation, one that would lead to serious, if unspecified, consequences. In a phone call with President Biden on Friday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned the US about "playing with fire." Biden himself has sounded less than thrilled with the prospect of a Pelosi visit there, saying the "military thinks it's not a good idea right now." (More Nancy Pelosi stories.)

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