Taiwan visit

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/mitch-mcconnell-and-25-other-republicans-issue...
Mitch McConnell and 25 Other Republicans Issue Statement Supporting Nancy Pelosi’s Trip to Taiwan

“We support Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. For decades, members of the United States Congress, including previous Speakers of the House, have traveled to Taiwan,” the statement signed by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reads, adding:

This travel is consistent with the United States’ One China policy to which we are committed. We are also committed now, more than ever, to all elements of the Taiwan Relations Act.

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Nancy has more balls than all of the pro-Trump hosts and parade of guests who appear on FOX News prime-time programming. Her pink suit is the summer version of her red go-get-em winter coat.

She won't be by her husband's side when he's arraigned for his DUI today in Napa. I'd say she has her priorities straight.

>1 Molly3028: There is such a thing as having more balls than brains.

https://theanalysis.news/u-s-policy-on-taiwan-is-dangerous-wilkerson/

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/kevin-mccarthy-criticizes-pelosi-for-not-taking-any-...
Kevin McCarthy Criticizes Pelosi for Not Taking Any Republicans to Taiwan — Neglects to Mention She Did Invite Them

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/pelosi-calls-out-critics-of-taiwan-trip-they-d...
Pelosi Calls Out Critics of Taiwan Trip: ‘They Didn’t Say Anything When the Men Came’

>5 Molly3028: That's because the men came last century. Things were different, and there wasn't a world war brewing. Cynical deflection.

>6 davidgn: Last year was "last century"? 😕🤔

"Republicans Meet Taiwan President as GOP Pushes for Strengthening Defenses" (Nov 2021)
https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-meet-taiwan-president-gop-pushes-strengthen...

John Kirby of the Department of Defense told a press gaggle that congressional visits to Taiwan were "fairly routine" and in line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the 1979 legislation that requires the United States to assist the island with its self-defense.

>7 aspirit: Ah. All right. I assumed she was referring to the last visit by a Speaker. She is the Speaker of the House and second in the line of succession to the Presidency. Her visit intrinsically carries a different sort of significance than "some legislator" visiting and she damn well knows it.

I wonder how the US government and patriotic people in the USA would feel if a small group of the defeated side from their own civil war had set themselves up as a nation on a piece of US territory, had continued to oppose all the values of mainstream USA, and had allied themselves with the USA's international ideological enemies, providing a potential enemy military base on the USA's own doorstep? That's probably how the Chinese government and many of its people would see the Taiwan situation.

>8 aspirit: The delegation mentioned in that article: Republican Senators John Cornyn (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Tommy Tuberville (AL), and Mike Crapo (ID); Navy veteran and Republican Congressman Jake Ellzey (TX); and a more secretive lawmaker reportedly from the House of Representatives. That's more than "some legislator".

The same month, five more members of the U.S. House of Representatives went to Taiwan to discuss security issues: Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Mark Takano (D-CA), Colin Allred (D-TX), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Sara Jacobs (CA), and Nancy Mace (R- SC).

"U.S. lawmakers arrive in Taiwan, second trip in a month" (Nov 2021)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-lawmakers-coming-taiwan-military-f...
(with additional sources for party affiliation and states represented)

I suspect that what's happening is that the average citizen hasn't been paying any attention to Taiwan these past several years (despite frequent talk in military circles of it) and are now being worked up. Making the conservative base angry and afraid seems to be easy to do just by throwing "Pelosi" into a headline.

>10 John5918: This is darkly funny.

But I keep questioning if it's meant to be serious. If serious, I'm at a loss trying to figure out where to begin explaining all the ways that comparison fails. I guess the easiest answer: In the USA, the group(s) you described are ignored even when they grow in hostility and power. The problem with this is it leaves addressed the implication that Taiwan is a threat to mainland China.

>11 aspirit: So basically you're trying to reduce this to domestic politics. No. This visit is fundamentally a foreign policy issue that has implications for domestic politics, not the other way around. Pelosi may be making the visit with cynical domestic political aims in mind, but that is her folly. And to indulge momentarily this warped US-centric viewpoint: if the sole impetus for criticizing her visit were nothing more than to expound a right-wing talking point and take advantage of an excuse to throw mud at Democrats (and, if you really want to the argument that far, at women), you'd expect the conservative media to be on the same page about the matter..
"Fox News Malfunctions Over Pelosi Visit To Taiwan"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gfWUhBFKBs

>12 aspirit:

Of course it's serious, and of course all such comparisons are flawed. But step outside the US worldview and try to understand how the Chinese might view the presence of a potential enemy military base on its own doorstep, nay on its own territory as it sees it.

Far from ignoring potential threats, the USA threatened nuclear war when an ideological enemy had a military presence on an island in its vicinity, and that island was an undisputed sovereign territory, unlike Taiwan which China still believes is part of its own territory.

>14 John5918: China's perspective is obvious. That's why the USA maintains its "One China" policy. The Taiwanese people are vastly greater risk from China's government than Chinese mainlanders are from Taiwan's government.

China is also no less a threat to other countries, including the USA, if we again ignore the potential invasion of an ally.

Putting the US position in perspective is more complex. If you want to ignore China's reputation from historical and ongoing aggression, then I suggest looking at Japan's 20th-Century history with Indonesia and its consequences for the world, notably when the US Capitol Hill refused to keep to its promises. That history comes to many (history-informed) American minds when looking at East Asia. Some members of our government have tried to move the country beyond its past mistakes. (Not the Confederacy fanatics, but plenty others, especially with issues involved with more recent wars.)

The USA's relationship with South Korea is a current example. The USA isn't interested in taking over North Korea, and South Korea doesn't want China. We're just not going to leave South Koreans to be invaded by China for the Nth time while they maintain close relationships with us.

Wave of nationalistic fervour washes over China amid Pelosi visit to Taiwan (Guardian)

When news of Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan crept into China’s state media late last month, there was a sense of shock and panic. News outlets condemned the US, suggesting it was a breach of the “one-China principle”... For a few days, this message echoed across the country’s news outlets. The fury resonated online through the writings of pundits and military bloggers... In Chinese society today, such nationalistic rhetoric often creates an echo chamber, especially on issues related to China’s sovereignty. Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China’s own territory. Generations of Chinese leaders have wanted to “take it back”, and they have not renounced the option of a military takeover as a last resort... “Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan also created a sense of unity on social media, which was flooded with comments expressing support for the Chinese military and calls for a unification with Taiwan”... Having vowed to respond, the PLA announced it would conduct large-scale drills and missile tests around the island of Taiwan from Thursday. State media said this was to show how reckless Pelosi had been. The military exercises eventually put Asia on edge and invited calls from Asian and Europeans leaders to exercise restraint...

I can’t help but note that there was quite a bit of discussion for a while over whether China would invade Taiwan while everybody was paying attention to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It wouldn’t surprise me if an unofficial reason for Pelosi’s trip is to say, basically, “We’re watching, so don’t try anything.” We can’t just say directly to China that we’re watching them, because outright telling another country you’re willing to fight if they start a war is a good way to have a war. Pelosi’s visit is a fairly low-risk way of getting the message across—sending Pelosi over doesn’t really threaten China. She’s not a one-woman army or backing her words with nuclear weapons or anything that would actually prevent China from taking Taiwan if they wanted; she’s an important legislator on a brief visit, but that’s all. If China were really willing to declare war over that, then they probably would do it anyway, so there’s really little risk of starting a war, and if it prevents a war—particularly one that involves an invasion of a country we’ve always (unofficially) supported against the Chinese mainland—then it’s worth putting up with China being more annoyed than usual. Those military exercises are basically their way of expressing their annoyance, but really they don’t amount to more than that—if China were willing to invade Taiwan at the present time, they would, and they wouldn’t put Taiwan on the alert first if they could help it.

My prediction is that, for all China’s jingoism, things will settle down soon enough; they know we’re paying attention, we know they’re annoyed at our interference, and the only thing that gets hurt is Pelosi’s political career, because what everybody will remember is how she recklessly annoyed the Chinese, and not the war that didn’t happen. Sucks for her, but sometimes you have to take the lesser hit to avoid the greater one.