CNN
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan has resulted in stern warnings from Beijing and mounting concerns in Washington.
Though the California Democrat has so far declined to confirm the trip publicly, she has invited both Democrats and Republicans to accompany her.
China has lashed out at the potential visit, vowing to take “resolute and forceful measures” if the trip goes ahead. This week, China’s Defense Ministry reiterated the threat, warning: “If the US insists on taking its own course, the Chinese military will never sit idly by.”
US officials are worried that the reported visit would be met with a military response from China, potentially triggering the worst cross-strait crisis in decades.
The tensions provided the backdrop for a lengthy phone call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, in which Xi warned the US not to “play with fire” on the Taiwan issue — though neither side confirmed if Pelosi’s reported plans were discussed. Preparation for the call predated reports of the possible trip.
Here’s what you need to know about the potential high-stakes visit.
Why is Beijing angry about Pelosi’s potential visit?
China’s ruling Communist Party claims the self-ruled democracy of Taiwan as its own territory — despite never having governed it — and has not ruled out the use of force to “reunify” the island with the Chinese mainland.
For decades, Beijing has sought to isolate Taipei on the world stage, from chipping away at its diplomatic allies to blocking it from joining international organizations.
Any move that appears to lend Taiwan a sense of international legitimacy is strongly opposed by China. And in the eyes of Beijing, high-profile overseas visits by Taiwanese officials, or visits by foreign officials to Taiwan, will do just that.
In 1995, a visit by then-Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to the United States triggered a major crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Enraged by the trip, China fired missiles into waters around Taiwan, and the crisis ended only after the US sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the area in a forceful show of support for Taipei…
