Pelosi’s trip shows U.S. won’t be cowed by world’s bullies
The strategic leaking of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan days before her arrival Tuesday prompted a predictable outburst of threats from China, which has claimed sovereignty over the democratically ruled island ever since it declared independence seven decades ago. The last time someone of Pelosi’s stature visited the island was in 1997, when thenHouse Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, traveled there.
The Biden administration is portraying Pelosi’s trip as something the administration couldn’t control since she represents an independent, coequal branch of government. But everything about this historic, albeit dangerous, trip is by design and has been coordinated every step of the way with the administration. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has been rattling sabers and hinting at a possible invasion of Taiwan to enforce its one-China policy. Pelosi’s visit serves to warn China not to even think about a military solution to the Taiwan question.
The great irony in this trip is that Pelosi is doing exactly what conservatives in Congress -- most notably Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri -- are demanding from the Democrats: Take a firm stand against China’s increasingly aggressive posture. But Missourians shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for that fist-pumping tweet from Hawley cheering Pelosi’s trip and praising her bravery. It’s just a matter of time before he finds a way to deride the Taiwan trip as a publicity stunt.
For decades, Taiwan’s defense fell to the far-right wing of the Republican Party. The World Anti-Communist League used the specter of Chinese expansionism to warn of global catastrophe if communism wasn’t held in check. It was partly because of Anti-Communist League influence that President Ronald Reagan began a covert program to arm right-wing militias and governments in Latin America and Asia. For Pelosi now to assume the agenda of holding China in check deprives Hawley and his ilk a platform to attack the Democrats as weak and ineffectual.
In reality, Pelosi had no choice. Once China objected and began issuing threats, the visit had to proceed, lest the United States be seen on the global stage as taking its orders from China. The timing is particularly important as billions of dollars in U.S. military aid helps Ukraine fend off a brutal Russian invasion.
China began ramping up its military aggression against Taiwan shortly after the Russia invasion. In fact, as soon as Pelosi arrived, China reportedly sent warplanes into the Taiwan Strait. Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to Washington, told CNN that the visit “will escalate tensions.”
Gingrich, speaking to Fox News, downplayed the potential for actual Chinese military action, calling the threats a “bluff.”
Bluff or not, it’s time for the United States to end this Trumpian, isolationist trend and let the bullies of the world know that the world’s most formidable superpower won’t stand idly by anymore while they gobble up their neighbors.