US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, August 3, left Taiwan after a one-day visit. Pelosi’s plane took off from Taiwan’s Songshan Airport at 6 pm local time (1 pm Moscow time) and headed for South Korea. In total, the American visit lasted 19 hours.

The politician flew to the island the night before as part of his tour of Asian countries. During her visit, she met with Taiwan’s chief of staff, Tsai Ing-wen, and visited the local parliament. Pelosi became the first Speaker of the US House of Representatives to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

With her visit, Pelosi hopes to “make it clear that the US will not abandon its commitment to Taiwan,” she said during a meeting with Inwen. “Right now in the world there is a struggle between autocracy and democracy,” Pelosi told a news conference, adding that one of the goals of the trip is “to show the world the success of the people of Taiwan, the courage to change their country, become more democratic. .”

Pelosi’s visit draws strong criticism from Beijing

Chinese officials, who regard Taiwan as their territory, were harshly critical even before Pelosi’s visit to the island. Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, warned the United States against “playing with fire” regarding Washington’s position on Taiwan.

In protest, China’s Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns. In addition, China has partially suspended trade with the island and announced military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The US does not officially recognize Taiwan’s independence, but opposes Chinese threats to forcibly annex the island.

The White House hopes that the conflict with China after Pelosi’s departure is not in vain. “China is ready to take further action and we hope they will continue to respond in the long term,” said White House spokesman John Kirby.

The White House was against Pelosi’s trip

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed ahead of Pelosi’s visit that Congress is an independent branch of the independent White House government, so the decision to travel is “completely up to the speaker”.

The White House opposed the trip out of fears it would worsen relations with China, US media reported, citing sources. “The military doesn’t think it’s a good idea right now,” Biden told reporters of Pelosi’s trip. This visit does not indicate a change in Washington’s policy regarding Taiwan’s status, John Kirby emphasized.

“Our visit is one of several congressional delegations to Taiwan and is in no way inconsistent with longstanding US policy,” Pelosi said.