Pelosi expected to arrive in Taipei Tuesday
02 Aug 2022 04:30pm
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. - AFP Photo
Pelosi as the head of the delegation of around 20 people, including six congressmen, is expected to land at Taipei Songshan Airport around 10.30 pm local time (14:30 GMT) on Tuesday. She will spend the night at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and visit the Taiwanese parliament on Wednesday morning, where she will hold meetings with the island's leadership including President Tsai Ing-wen.
On the same day, around noon, Pelosi will board a plane and leave Taiwan, thus completing her brief visit, ETtoday said.
Pelosi is currently in Singapore leading a US delegation of Democratic congressmen on an Asian tour, which also includes visits to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. US media reported earlier that Pelosi may also travel to Taiwan as part of the Asian trip, with the speaker herself refusing to unveil the details of the tour, as well as the plans to visit Taiwan, citing security concerns.
According to international relations experts interviewed by the South China Morning Post, Pelosi might pay a visit to Taiwan via a transit stop without formally entering the island, and stay at the airport for several hours to meet Tsai.
"If she does so, or calls it an unofficial visit, it would mean pressure or military threat from Beijing which is still a concern for her," Kwei-Bo Huang, professor of diplomacy at National Chengchi University in Taipei, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"It's possible that escalating Chinese pressure may push Pelosi into a corner, cause her to feel a greater need to show strength and, as a result, make her feel more determined to go all in and visit as a full-fledged US House speaker," Wen-Ti Sung, a lecturer on international relations and China studies at Australian National University, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Pelosi's plans to visit Taiwan have sparked a major backlash from Beijing, which condemns any official contacts between the US and Taiwan. The Chinese side has repeatedly claimed that by pursuing the trip Washington would infringe on the one-China principle and jeopardise US-China bilateral relations. - BERNAMA
