Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Taiwan Despite Chinese Warnings, Pledges ‘Solidarity’ With Taiwanese People

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, despite warnings from China that the visit would be met with “strong countermeasures.”

Pelosi is reportedly scheduled to visit with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and others. The 82-year-old is the first U.S. House speaker to visit the island since Newt Gingrich made the trip in 1997. 

In a Washington Post (Lean Left bias) op-ed published soon after her arrival, Pelosi wrote, “America’s solidarity with Taiwan is more important today than ever — not only to the 23 million people of the island but also to millions of others oppressed and menaced” by China. She also said her visit, part of a broader trip to several Pacific countries, “in no way contradicts the long-standing one-China policy” in which the U.S. maintains strategic ambiguity on China’s claim that Taiwan is a breakaway province. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also reaffirmed the policy prior to Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan.

Coverage was widespread and prominently featured across the spectrum on Tuesday, following several days of coverage about Pelosi’s trip. Coverage was also prominently featured in outlets around the world — including the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (Center bias), Israeli outlet Haaretz (Center bias) and German outlet Deutsche Welle (Center bias). While most coverage highlighted Chinese “threats,” some headlines from the right also mentioned “US military warnings” and described the visit as “controversial.”