House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) accused China of threatening “democracy itself” in an op-ed in The Washington Post that was published shortly before she arrived in Taiwan, a visit that Beijing views as a major provocation.
“We cannot stand by as the CCP proceeds to threaten Taiwan — and democracy itself,” Pelosi said. She repeated a common line coming out of Washington that the world was facing a choice between “autocracy and democracy.”
President Biden has framed the US rivalry with China and Russia as a global battle between “autocracy and democracy.” He even used the line when asking a group of Gulf monarchies for support against China and Russia at a recent Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia.
Pelosi said in a statement after she landed in Taiwan that “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,” although many in Taiwan oppose her visit.
In a poll of nearly 7,500 readers conducted by Taiwan’s United Daily News website, 61% said the trip was “not welcome” as it “may destabilize the Taiwan Strait.” Only 38% were happy about the visit and said it had “more advantages than disadvantages.”
When Pelosi and her congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan, they were met with protesters who opposed the trip, as well as demonstrators who welcomed the American lawmakers. Pelosi went ahead with the trip knowing it could provoke a major crisis across the Taiwan Strait, and China has announced its military will encircle the island and hold live-fire drills in response.
What exactly is the purpose of her visit, does she have any issues to discuss? All I can see, she is taking a vacation at tax payers expense and so does the rest of her delegation. Since she has nothing to say provocation is the only plausible reason.
Taiwan is just as much part of China than E. Germany and W. Germany, and N. Vietnam and S. Vietnam, S and N Korea.
I am sure, FM Lavrov would never permit such a useless nonsense like this. He is a serious and accomplished diplomate. The Americans really made the nation look stupid, primitive.
oops
It’s instigating conflict with China.
They have come a long way since Trump started the instigations, demonizing the Chinese and Biden continues it. Then Biden expects China and other Asians to support his aggressions against Russia.
In a poll of nearly 7,500 readers conducted by Taiwan’s United Daily News website, 61% said the trip was “not welcome” as it “may destabilize the Taiwan Strait.” Only 38% were happy about the visit and said it had “more advantages than disadvantages.”
Well, if protecting ‘democracy’ was so important, than Pelosi REALLY should not have landed in Taipei, per the will of the people of Taiwan.
Amazing how MSM spins the news for the government, no matter how stupid and criminal the policies are. There is no critical reporting about Biden’s policies, regardless how stupid and criminal they really are.
Every human in America is going to understand what these words mean “I seen every slave and every free man run to cliffs and yell at the rocks fall on us and hide us from he that sits on the throne”
You’re not that important and you brought suffering on his children from Iraq to Libya while you lived in luxury and praised yourself. Only the godless would think such things will continue unabated.
The honest soul searching should have started with Vietnam, it NEVER happened. Bad governments ever since now it is how empires die. It took an active comedian, Jon Stewart to push a bill through congress to support health care for veterans who put their lives on the line for them.
That is the mirror to show us what greedy government looks like.
America has lost that special something it once had.
Between POS obama who hates traditional America, senile dementia angry old man Joey Biden, and a host of kleptocrats both Republican and DemoRat the American dream is dead!
America is over and it is sad. Democracy died with the election of Clinton, W Bush, obama, and Biden!
CT,
I’m not sure that democracy is dead (yet) but it could be on its way…
Live and learn.
Make love not war!
We are rushing head long into Christian fascism.
Would that be better or worse than Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or any other fascism?
The same. All just as bad as the other.
The weakness of the system did not show until it got tested, losing wars are testing the resilience of it, I think.
You skipped one in between Obama and Biden. and you left out a bunch before Clinton.
Even Trump was forced to buckle under to the real power of the country – and it’s at a bureaucratic level above the mere Presidency. He had no chance, because there were enough NEOCON Republicans in the House and Senate who would have voted with the Democrats to oust him in the first impeachment action. Peacemakers are mincemeat in that office. See Jack Kennedy, who said he would break the CIA into a 1000 pieces and fired John Dulles, head of the CIA. He and they got even didn’t they, or as Schumer warned Trump, “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you”, and they did that his whole Administration.
David Talbot’s book “The Devil’s Chessboard” is as current now as it was when he wrote it and great reading.
Trump was a lousy president. Period. From the Space force to the Abraham accords. Dropping out of the JCPOA. Selling out Assange. Lifting the rules of engagement to make killing easier everywhere, drones included. The drone strike that family that got wasted by in Afghanistan were under Trumps rules of engagement. Selling weapons to anyone with a pulse (See Abraham Accords). Selling lethal weapons to Ukraine that Obama wouldn’t and bragging about it. Record military spending at the time. The list goes on and on and those things were hardly resulting from pressure. Hell, he promised belligerence during his campaign and he delivered.
Were it possible, it would be nice to bring back the Eisenhower administration.
I would say it started with Nixon, losing wars brings out the worst. Since Vietnam there has been nothing but lost wars for the US. Now the nation can’t take any more, it looks like approaching a big train wreck.
One of the first where we squandered American lives for “absolutely nothing”.
To quote TLK, “you are not too bright.”
Quoting a moron makes you what? An idiot?
I’m on the verge of admitting that China is more ‘democratic’ than we are.
Dear Nancy:
“This is your rifle! This is your gun! This for fighting and this is for fun!”…
She said WHAT!? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
oops pelosi is just checking on the status of the company NVIDIA, of which she owns 10.000 shares of stock, who manufactures semiconductors in taiwan. now we know why pelosi had been lobbying uncle sam to give the semiconductor industry a $50 billion bail-out.
They sold them right before the bill was passed to give corporate welfare to chip manufacturers. But chip stocks fell after this visit so…they knew what would happen.
“who manufactures semiconductors in taiwan.”
Maybe, but “The company was founded by Jen Hsun Huang, Chris A. Malachowsky, and Curtis R. Priem in January 1993 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/NVDA/company-profile
Doesn’t matter who owns the company in a war. Seems to me she would be smarter to keep a low profile and NOT be in any way involved in encouraging independence. If China slams down on Taiwan and invades, that company will be singled out for “special treatment.” Probably not of the good persuasion.
Pelosi has selective amnesia in her “threats to democracy” bs. Was she for the violent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine by the Obama/Biden/Clinton regime. That was the last democratically elected government of Ukraine that had that aura of sacred democracy attached to it. Maybe she would like to restore that (blow the trumpets on high) Democracy to Ukraine?
Pelosi is getting on my tits… Nothing is more annoying than an empty talking head…
Was she even sober when she made all these commitments? What authority did she have to do that? Who is in charge concerning foreign affairs?
Such a stunt would not be possible under FM Lavrov.
I doubt that she’s ever sober.
“Such a stunt would not be possible under FM Lavrov.”
Really?
As a few days have passed, it’s obvious Pelosi’s visit hurt Taiwan and gained nothing.