United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reports suggest, might visit Taiwan despite there being no mention of the same in her itinerary. The Biden government had warned the veteran lawmaker that visiting Taiwan might be dangerous in these times when there is a strained relationship between the United States and China. If Pelosi does go to Taiwan, it will be the first time a US House Speaker has visited the country in 25 years.

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In the meanwhile, Chinese state-affiliated media, Global Times, has tweeted out a warning by the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson regarding the visit:

Taiwanese journalist Tingting Liu is also of the opinion that Pelosi might land in Taipei “tomorrow night”:

Meanwhile, the United States government has started creating a buffer zone in case Pelosi decides to go ahead with her visit, reports Nikkei Asia. With the 83-year-old Pelosi being 3rd in the presidential line of succession, her security is of utmost importance to the federal government. Pelosi’s first stop in her trip was Singapore:

Regarding the visit, Rick Larsen, the co-chair of the U.S.-China Working Group said regarding China’s stance, said, “I would say there’s been a full-court press from the Chinese embassy to discourage a trip to Taiwan”. He added, “I just don’t think it’s their business to tell us what we ought to be doing. That was my message back”.

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The Chinese Embassy’s spokesperson in the U.S., Liu Pengyu, said, “The Embassy is making all our efforts to prevent the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the stability of China-US relations being damaged by the potential visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.”

 Pelosi has always been a vocal critic of Chinese policies since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. She spoke up against China’s stance on Tibet, and also in 2017 when pro-democracy protestors were sentenced to jail terms.