The Guardianreports August 3, 2022, in part:
[Senior politician, US House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi [re China] has landed in Taiwan for a controversial visit to the self-ruled island, offering “unwavering commitment” to supporting its democracy as already heightened tensions with China escalate.
Timed with her arrival, China’s ministry of defence said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had been put on “high alert” and announced a series of targeted military operations, including missile tests in the waters east of Taiwan and drills encircling the main island for four days after Pelosi leaves.
China, which regards Taiwan as its territory, has repeatedly warned of retaliation for the visit. Shortly before Pelosi’s arrival, Chinese state media reported that Beijing’s Su-35 fighter jets were flying across the Taiwan strait.
Taipei subsequently dismissed the announcement as “fake news”.
China summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to rebuke him over Pelosi’s “egregious” trip to Taiwan, state media reported on Tuesday night. The deputy foreign minister, Xie Feng, voiced “strong protests” over Pelosi’s visit during his talk with Nicholas Burns.
The US House of Representatives speaker’s plane landed at Songshan airport in Taipei at about 10.45pm local time (17.45 BST) on Tuesday. She was greeted by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, and the US representative in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk, and is expected to meet the president, Tsai Ing-wen, on Wednesday morning.
Pelosi tweeted shortly after her arrival that the visit honoured the US’s “unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy”.
She said: “America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.”
An opinion piece by the House speaker, published by the Washington Post after she landed, said Beijing had intensified tensions with Taiwan and “this vibrant, robust democracy – […] proudly led by a woman, President Tsai Ing-wen – is under threat”. Her article also referenced China’s actions in Hong Kong and Tibet, and a “genocide” against Uyghurs.
She continued: “In the face of the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its freedom.”
Taiwan’s party of government, the Democratic Progressive party, said it admired and respected Pelosi’s “moral courage”.
It said: “No threatening remarks or provocative actions can reduce even slightly the determination of Taiwan and its international friends to defend democracy and freedom.”
...The visit appeared to have prompted high levels of military movement and preparations by the Chinese, Taiwanese and US militaries.
The PLA reportedly moved several warships and planes near the median line – an unofficial border between China and Taiwan in the Taiwan strait...."