They promise Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan and China issues a new warning

(CNN) — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to Taiwan as part of it Asia TourAccording to a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, Biden is concerned about China’s response to such a high-profile visit, despite warnings from administration officials.

After the news broke, China warned of “dire” political consequences of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and said its military “will not sit idly by.”

The visit, the first by a US House speaker in 25 years, is not currently on Pelosi’s public itinerary and comes at a time when relations between the US and China are already at a low point.

The Taiwanese official added that Pelosi is expected to spend the night in Taiwan. It is unclear when it will land in Taipei.

Defense officials are working around the clock to monitor any Chinese movement in the region and ensure a plan to keep it safe, the US official added.

The question of Taiwan – an autonomous island that China claims as part of its territory – remains a highly contentious one. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had a lengthy two-hour, 17-minute phone call Thursday amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

“The Taiwan issue is a very important and critical issue in China-US relations,” Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the US, told the Aspen Security Forum in July.

Biden said last month that the U.S. military opposed Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, though he declined to elaborate on the warnings. Where he travels is up to the Speaker of the House, and the White House said they have little say in his decision.

However, administration officials have explained the risks of the Taiwan visit in meetings with Pelosi and her team in recent weeks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he recently discussed the Asia visit with Pelosi.

When Pelosi travels abroad, the administration pays special attention to her security because she is on the presidential line.

Administration officials worry that Pelosi’s visit comes at a particularly tense time, as Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term at the next Chinese Communist Party congress. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for that conference in the coming weeks, putting pressure on leaders in Beijing to take a stand.

Officials believe Chinese leaders do not fully understand the political dynamics of the United States, leading to a misunderstanding of the significance of Pelosi’s potential visit. Officials say China may have confused Pelosi’s visit with an official administration visit because she and Biden are Democrats. Administration officials worry that China may not separate Pelosi too much from Biden.

Pelosi has long been a critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He has met with pro-democracy protesters and the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who is a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. In 1991, Pelosi unfurled a black-and-white banner in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square commemorating the victims of the 1989 massacre, reading “To those who died for democracy.” In recent years, he has expressed support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The Chinese embassy in the US has opposed her long-awaited visit, which was planned for April, before Pelosi tested positive for Covid-19, urging members of Congress to tell the president not to do so.

“I would say the Chinese embassy has put all the pressure on to discourage travel to Taiwan,” Representative Rick Larsen, Democrat of Washington, co-chairman of the US-China Congressional Task Force, told CNN. “I don’t think it’s their job to tell them what to do. That’s my response.”

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, responded that his office was in “regular contact” with members of Congress, including Larson.

“On the Taiwan issue, we have made our position clear,” Pengyu said. “The embassy is making every effort to prevent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan from harming peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the stability of Sino-US relations.”

“We hope that serious consequences can be avoided,” he added. “It is in the common interests of China and the United States.”

Many Democrats and Republicans in Congress said it was Pelosi’s right to travel to Taiwan.

“Whether or not to travel to Taiwan is Speaker Pelosi’s decision, not any other country’s,” said Rep. Darrin LaHood of Illinois, Larson’s Republican representative on the US-China task force. “In our democratic system, we operate with separate but equal powers.”

“It is inappropriate for foreign governments, including the Chinese government, to attempt to influence the ability or right of the Speaker of Parliament, members of Congress or other US government officials to travel to Taiwan or anywhere else in the world,” he added. .

Other members seemed more wary of the diplomatically sensitive trip.

California Democrat Rep. Judy Xu, the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress, said she would “always support Taiwan.”

But when asked if the trip to Taiwan now would send the wrong message, Xu said: “You can look at it in two ways. One is that relations are very strained now. But on the other hand, you can say it might be now. Taiwan should also show strength and support.”

Asked what he thought, he said, “I’ll leave it up to whoever is going to make that decision.”

China has warned of the “terrible” political consequences of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, and says its military “will not sit idly by.”

China has warned of the “terrible political consequences” of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and has repeatedly said its military “will not sit idly by” if Beijing feels its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” are being threatened. Foreign Affairs held this Monday.

“China stands by and we want to tell the US once again that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never be idle. China will take firm responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. Spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters when asked about the implications of Pelosi leading the congressional delegation in Taipei.

“As for what steps, if she dares to go, let’s wait and see,” Zhao added.

In a similar warning last week, China’s Ministry of National Defense called on the U.S. government to take “firm measures” to cancel Pelosi’s then-speculative visit, saying its military would “consider strong action to thwart any interference by outside forces and separatists.” ‘ Plans for Taiwan Independence,” if it goes ahead.

Zhao’s comments came hours before U.S. and Taiwanese officials confirmed on Tuesday that Pelosi, currently in Singapore, plans to visit Taiwan as part of her Asia tour.

Beijing – which views the autonomous island of Taiwan as a breakaway province – has warned for weeks that it is prepared to take “decisive and forceful measures” if Pelosi lands in Taipei.

Since then, both the White House and the Pentagon have added a sense of caution as officials weigh what China’s actual response to the delegation’s visit might be, including the possibility that Beijing could impose a no-fly zone around Taiwan.

Nectar Gan and CNN’s Hannah Ritchie contributed to this report.