U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with her delegation, arrives in Taiwan as she is welcomed by Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, left, at Taipei Songshan International Airport, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. - Taiwan Foreign Ministry/Zuma Press/TNS
The last time a U.S. speaker of the house met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, the visit prompted extensive blowback in China. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as China’s military is formally called, responded briskly, conducting days of military exercises around the self-governed island. These were no normal military exercises either. PLA ships and aircraft surrounded Taiwan at six separate points in what could only be described as a dress rehearsal for a hypothetical blockade. Missiles were launched over the island, with some of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Tsai’s exp...
