US House Speaker hails Taiwan visit as "show of support"

TOKYO, Aug 3 (KUNA) -- US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that her delegation's visit to Taiwan was a show of support for the island, as the trip sparked a furious response from China, Channel News Asia reported from Taipei.
"Today, our delegation, which I'm very proud, came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and we are proud of our enduring friendship," Pelosi was quoted as saying during her meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei.
Pelosi also reiterated the US' strong bipartisan support for Taiwan as a democracy.
In the meeting, Tsai thanked Pelosi for her concrete actions to support Taiwan at this critical moment, saying that Pelosi is one of Taiwan's most devoted friends and thanked her for her unwavering support on the international stage.
Tsai said the island would "not back down" as a furious China geared up for military drills in retaliation for the visit of Pelosi. "Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down. We will firmly uphold our nation's sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy," Tsai said.
During a joint press conference, Pelosi said the US stands with Taiwan, while Tsai said Pelosi's presence in Taiwan "serves to boost public confidence in the strength of our democracy." China has demonstrated its anger at Pelosi's visit by holding military drills in the island's surrounding waters, and the Chinese foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador Nicholas Burns late on Tuesday.
The ministry warned that Washington "shall pay the price." China rolled out curbs on the import of fruit and fish from Taiwan while halting shipments of sand to the island in the wake of Pelosi's visit to the island.
China's Customs Administration said on Wednesday it would suspend some citrus fruit imports from Taiwan over alleged "repeated" detection of excessive pesticide residue, and the import of fish owing to positive coronavirus tests on packages.
China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing sees the island as its territory.
Meanwhile, Pelosi called Taiwan one of the freest societies in the world and praised the island's performance in handling the COVID-19 pandemic as she visited Taiwan's legislature on Wednesday, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.
Pelosi, who arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night amid strong opposition from China, met with Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang and addressed the importance of parliamentary cooperation between the US and Taiwan.
Pelosi's delegation was received by Tsai as Speaker You Si-kun is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
"We commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world," Pelosi said, praising the country for its success in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic which she called not only a health issue but also a security, economic, and governance issue.
Pelosi called for more parliamentary cooperation between the US and Taiwan, saying the delegation she led to Taiwan comprised lawmakers who were very capable and able to think about economic and security issues strategically which they could share with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Pelosi is the first sitting US House speaker to visit Taiwan since 1997. The House speaker arrived in Taipei Tuesday night from Malaysia with no prior public announcement.
Mentioning the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, which was passed by the US House of Representatives last week and moved one step closer to being signed into law, Pelosi showed confidence that the legislation would bring in "greater opportunities for US-Taiwan economic cooperation." (end) mk.mt