United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday despite objections from China which claims the self-ruled island.
China had earlier warned the US of retaliation if Pelosi visited Taiwan saying its military would “never sit idly by”. “The US side will bear the responsibility and pay the price for undermining China’s sovereign security interests,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had told journalists in Beijing.
Pelosi’s plane landed at Songshan airport in Taipei about 10.45pm local time today. She was greeted by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and the US representative in Taiwan Sandra Oudkirk.
She is expected to meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday morning. On arrival, Pelosi said the visit honoured the US’ “unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy”.
“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. Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan – and it in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy.” she said.
