US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Visits Taiwan Parliament
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan lawmakers in Taipei on August 3 during a visit that China says is a “serious violation” of the “One China” concept that guides US-China relations with regard to Taiwan.
Footage streamed by the Legislative Yuan shows Pelosi meeting Tsai Chi-chang, deputy speaker of Taiwan’s legislature, after speaker You Si-kun tested positive for Covid-19.
“We commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world, for your success in addressing (the Covid-19 pandemic), which is a health issue, a security issue, an economic issue, and a governance issue,” Pelosi said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Weibo the actions of Tsai and her government would “accelerate its own destruction and push Taiwan into the abyss of disaster,” according to a translation.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing “strong opposition” to the visit on Tuesday and announced further military drills in the region, which the Taiwanese military condemned. Credit: Legislative Yuan Congress Channel via Storyful
Video Transcript
NANCY PELOSI: I accept all the kind words that you said about me on behalf of the Congress of the United States. Because all of that was done in a very strong bipartisan way in support of Taiwan. When you say that I'm a good friend of Taiwan, I take that as a great compliment, but I receive it on behalf of my colleagues. You acknowledged some-- you mentioned them at the beginning, but I'm very proud of the distinguished party that has come with us. They remind me of translation.
[LAUGHTER]
- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Sorry. Sorry. Because the mic wasn't working, they gave me a new one.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
NANCY PELOSI: On our visits, on congressional delegations, we have three purposes. One is security, security for our people, global security. Two is economics to spread as much prosperity as possible. And three is governance.
In terms of-- as you see, our delegation has what we call heft, heft. They have a view of economy and security and governance. They have knowledge of the issues. They think in a strategic way about how to work together. They came here, we all did, to listen, to learn from you as to how we can go forward together.
- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
NANCY PELOSI: And in terms of governance, we commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world. For your success in addressing the COVID issue, which is a health issue, a security issue, an economic issue, and a governance issue. We congratulate you for that.
And as we continue to work together, we want you to know how proud we are of Sandra. She told me just to address her as Sandra, our director. And she has our confidence and we're very proud of her leadership.
- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
NANCY PELOSI: And so now we look forward to our conversation about how we can work together, learning from you and sharing some thoughts ourselves on how to protect the planet from the climate crisis, how to accelerate and learn from you how you addressed the COVID crisis, how we advance respect for all of the people in our countries as we go forward. And again, we come in friendship. We thank you for your leadership. We want the world to recognize that. And with that, again, I thank you Vice President Si for your hospitality, for your kind words.
Just go back to Tiananmen Square for a moment. That was bipartisan. Was over 30 years ago. It was bipartisan when we were on Tiananmen Square, and we were there specifically making the statement on human rights. But our visit was about human rights, was about unfair trade practices, and it was about security issue of technology-- dangerous technologies being transferred to rogue countries, to countries of concern. So over the years, it's always been about security, economy and governance.
So we look forward to our conversation. And I think we're right on time.
[LAUGHTER]
