Good morning. We begin today with our continued focus on Nancy Pelosi’s historic trip to Taiwan. During a meeting with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, the House Speaker pledged to “always” stand by the country and not “abandon” it. “America made a bedrock promise to always stand with Taiwan, and this visit is a reminder of that,” Pelosi said at the presidential office in Taipei yesterday. For Pelosi, the visit is the latest salvo in a career of standing up to China over issues that encompass its human rights record in Tibet and Xinjiang, its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and its aggressive military activity. But the visit has enraged China, which has announced that it will begin live-fire military exercises in the waters around Taiwan from today until Sunday.
The drills could amount to a blockade of a country whose economic lifeblood comes from exports and which is highly reliant on energy imports. Meanwhile, the commercial ramifications from Pelosi’s trip have already begun. The China customs administration has suspended imports of more than 2,000 food products from Taiwan. The move is seen by observers as the start of a campaign by Beijing to punish Taipei for Pelosi’s visit. But Tsai praised Pelosi’s visit “under such challenging circumstances” and said it boosted public confidence in the strength of her country’s democracy. Thanks for all your comments on this topic. ahead of Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan: “I think it’s brave of her and also a necessity to declare to the Chinese that the free world doesn’t accept threats.” Moses Isik, Stockholm, Sweden “I see no reason for her to pursue such a reckless action, particularly given the threats of a military response from the People’s Liberation Army.” Guy Cowman-Sharpe, Sheffield, England “We need to stand firm with Taiwan and other democratic forces in Asia, against intimidation from the Chinese Communist party.” David Tran, Washington, US “[The visit] makes the US look weak and disjointed with ‘no one in charge’ in the name of democracy.” Mitchell Harris, Sunapee, New Hampshire