The delegation of the president of the House of Representative of the United States, Nancy Pelosi, left Taiwan this Wednesday night (local time) and went to South Korea, her next stop on her tour of Asia.
The US representative had landed in Taiwan the day before, despite threats from Beijing, which considers the island to be part of its territory and denounced this visit as a provocation.
The plane carrying Pelosi took off at 6:01 pm local time (5:00 am Mexico City time) from Taipei’s Songshan airport, after a visit in which she promised that “the United States will not abandon Taiwan” and which has outraged Beijing.
This is what the US legislator did in her controversial visit, which lasted less than 24 hours.
Pelosi visited the Taiwanese Parliament this morning and later met with the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, who awarded her an award for her “support” for the territory.
“Our delegation (…) came to Taiwan to make it clear, unequivocally, that we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and that we are proud of our long-standing friendship,” said Pelosi, 82, during a ceremony with the Taiwanese leader. .
Pelosi became the highest US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
The head of the Taiwanese Executive thanked Pelosi for her trip, awarding her the highest distinction on the island.
“It is my great and humble privilege to accept on behalf of Congress the Order of the Auspicious Cloud with Grand Special Cord: a symbol of the strong and enduring friendship of the United States with Taiwan,” the American politician wrote on her Twitter account.
Before leaving Taiwan, Pelosi met with Chinese dissidents including Wu’er Kaixi, one of the student leaders of the bloodily suppressed 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
China and Taiwan have been separated in fact since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communist troops defeated the nationalists, who took refuge on the island.
The United States recognized the Beijing government as China’s representative in 1979, although it continued to provide military support to Taiwan.
China’s “reunification” is a priority goal for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who last week formally told Biden over the phone to avoid “playing with fire.”
With information from AFP, EFE and Reuters
