Pelosi said that while China has blocked Taiwan from participating in international organizations and meetings, “they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan.”Cheers erupted outside Taipei Songshan International Airport as Pelosi’s military plane arrived on Tuesday. Lights on Taipei 101, Taiwan’s tallest building, displayed messages of welcome and gratitude for the speaker’s visit.
More supporters met Pelosi outside her hotel, along with pro-Beijing protesters holding banners demanding that she leave.
“The good thing is that I think this will let the world know more about the existence of Taiwan as a democratic country,” Xu Hao-jun, a 45-year-old software designer in Taipei, told NBC News on Wednesday. “The bad point? I think China will not be friendly, but that doesn’t mean just because Pelosi doesn’t come to Taiwan they will be less so.”
Pelosi began the day Wednesday by addressing Taiwan’s parliament, praising the island as “one of the freest societies in the world.”
At a ceremony later, Tsai presented Pelosi with a civilian order of the highest rank, calling her “one of Taiwan’s most devoted friends.”
In the afternoon, Pelosi — a longtime critic of China’s ruling Communist Party and its human rights record — met with three Chinese dissidents in private, local media reported. The delegation then boarded a plane for South Korea, the fourth stop on a larger tour of Asia that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and views “reunification” as inevitable, by force if necessary. The Taiwanese government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim and says the island’s future should be decided by its 23 million people.
In a statement on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the United States of provoking the controversy and encouraging advocates of Taiwan independence.
“Attempts to use the Taiwan question to contain China are doomed to failure,” he said.
The White House says Pelosi’s visit is consistent with longstanding U.S. policy on Taiwan, which it says has not changed, and that there is no reason for it to stir conflict.
The United States “will not seek and does not want a crisis. We are prepared to manage what Beijing chooses to do,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
