Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi confirmed yesterday that she was heading to Asia, without mentioning a possible visit to Taiwan, which could cause additional tension between China and the US.
“I am leading a congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific to reaffirm America’s commitment to our allies and friends in the region,” Pelosi said in a statement.
The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the visit by Pelosi and her accompanying delegation would take place on August 1 and 2, explaining that during the visit she would meet with President Halima Yacoub and Prime Minister Lee Sian Long.
The speaker of the US House of Representatives, the third most important figure in the US administration, remains ambivalent about a possible security visit to Taiwan. And Pelosi’s visit, if it takes place, will not be the first.
Republican Newt Gingrich, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in 1997, and Beijing’s reaction was relatively mild.
Pelosi was a frequent public critic of China, befriended the Dalai Lama, and angered Beijing in 1991 when he visited by placing a banner in Tiananmen Square honoring pro-democracy protesters killed there two years earlier.
