The insistence of the president of the Chamber of Deputies of the United States, Nancy Pelosito go to Taiwan despite the Chinese threat opens up differences in positions between the US Executive and Legislature.
while the president Joe Biden schedules bilateral meetings with the Chinese dictator, Xi Jinping, making it clear that she supports the “One China” policy, Pelosi reinforces her stance in favor of Taiwan independence.
Despite having said that it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack and having made weapons available since the 1970s, the United States still does not recognize the island of 24 million inhabitants as an independent nation. For this reason, International Relations analyst Igor Lucena points out that, despite Pelosi’s visit, “American policy has not changed.”
Pelosi’s Historical Criticism of China
Pelosi denounces the conduct of the Chinese Communist Party since the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, when anti-government protests were suppressed by the authorities.
In 1991, Pelosi spread a black-and-white banner across Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to honor the victims. The phrase read “For those who died for democracy”. Since then, she has been publicly supportive of Taiwan’s independence.
Through Pelosi’s trip, the United States imposes itself
“President Biden tends to respect the policy of former President Richard Nixon much more in relation to the idea of One China and to make a new bilateral agreement with Xi Jinping”, reinforces Lucena, pointing to the fact that the American Executive does not an offensive against China.
Even so, the analyst does not rule out the possibility of the United States trying, through the Legislature and in a subtle way, to “show strength” to the Asian giant. “If on the one hand the country has not broken the rules with Beijing since the 1970s, the Legislature has its independence and will defend American principles in the region”, he opines.
“I think it’s hard for Pelosi to have traveled without talking to Biden first. And she’s from the same party as the president,” recalls Lucena. “It is possible that this was the way to demonstrate that the United States will be tough on China and will not bow to authoritarian regimes”, she concludes.
