Why the big fuss over Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan?

The institute is effectively an embassy — although until 2002, Americans assigned to the institute had to resign from the U.S. State Department to go there, and could only be rehired after their term ended. Contact between the two governments is technically unofficial.

As the Taiwanese government pursues democracy — from the lifting of martial law in 1987 to its first fully democratic election in 1996 — it changes the assumption that the Chinese and Taiwanese governments once held eventual reunification with the mainland. However, the Chinese government has never abandoned the “one China” concept and refused to recognize the legitimacy of Taiwan’s autonomy. That made direct contact between Taiwanese and U.S. representatives controversial among Chinese officials.

Indeed, in 1995, when Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan’s first democratically elected president, landed in Hawaii on his way to Central America, he didn’t even step on the tarmac. The U.S. State Department has warned that the president will be denied a U.S. entry visa but will allow brief, low-level receptions in airport lounges during refueling. Apparently feeling left out, Lee refused to leave the plane.

past political visits

Two years after the incident, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan.

Similar to a possible Pelosi visit, Gingrich’s visit has angered Beijing. But it was easier for the White House to distance itself from Gingrich — a Republican politician who visited Taiwan in his own capacity, apparently not on behalf of then-President Bill Clinton.

Pelosi’s possible visit could be different because she is a member of the same party as President Joe Biden, and China may see her as having Biden’s blessing despite his comments to the contrary.

Asked on July 20 what he thought of Pelosi’s possible trip, Biden replied, “The military doesn’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

The comment echoes the White House’s earlier handling of Biden’s comments in May 2022 that the United States would intervene “militarily” if China invaded Taiwan. Officials in the Biden administration withdrew the comment, which would break long-standing ambiguous policy on what the United States would do if China tried to occupy Taiwan by force.

Similar to Pelosi, the White House is moving away from suggesting a shift in U.S.-Taiwan relations after the U.S. has been trying to rethink how it interacts with Taiwan.

change policy?

In 2018, Congress passed a bipartisan Taiwan Travel Act. This differs from the previous policy, as it allows bilateral official visits between the US and Taiwan, although they are still considered subdiplomatic.

The bill made Donald Trump’s HHS secretary, Alex Azar, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan since 1979. Then in 2020, Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Keith Craher visited Taiwan.

In April 2022, a US congressional delegation will visit Taiwan. Pelosi herself was reportedly scheduled to visit the island the same month, but canceled after testing positive for COVID-19.

Each of those visits drew angry statements from Beijing.

At a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised questions about the international community’s commitment to protecting the smaller country from its more powerful neighbors, a high-profile visit — even one without the White House’s overt support — would show support for the island .

At the same time, the erosion of Hong Kong’s democracy has undermined China’s commitment to the “one country, two systems” philosophy. The principle, which allows Hong Kong to return to the mainland after British rule ends while maintaining its economic, political and social systems, has been cited as a model for unification with Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party is also planning to hold its 20th congress in the coming months, making the timing of visits to Taiwan by prominent American politicians such as Pelosi sensitive.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/why-the-big-fuss-over-nancy-pelosis-possible-visit-to-taiwan-187657.