China-Taiwan Relations After Nancy Pelosi’s Visit
China-Taiwan Relations After Nancy Pelosi’s Visit
  • times
  • 승인 2022.09.14 20:10
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

▲Locations of China’s Military Drills / Focus Taiwan
▲Locations of China’s Military Drills / Focus Taiwan

On Aug. 2, United States politician Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. This was the first high ranking American official’s visit to the island nation since 1997, when the Republican politician Newt Gingrich visited. Pelosi portrayed the reason for her trip as an obligation to stand with democratic countries in opposition to autocratic nations. This was not her first show of support for democracy, as she had also visited Tiananmen Square in 1991.
After Pelosi’s visit, the relationship between China and Taiwan deteriorated significantly. This is because China has declared Taiwan as part of its territory, whereas Taiwan refutes this. The visit by Pelosi indicated that the US recognizes the sovereignty of Taiwan. Therefore, while Taiwan welcomed Pelosi with open arms and interpreted the visit as a signal of strong alliance between Taiwan and the US, China interpreted it as a challenge of their ‘One China’ policy.
As retaliation, China has conducted several dangerous military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan. Six danger zones were declared by China, with three located within Taiwan’s territorial waters. Test launches of ballistic missiles also occurred over Taiwanese airspace, and these drills seemed to simulate an attack on the island nation. China also imposed trade sanctions on their exports of natural sand to Taiwan and imports of Taiwanese citrus fruits and fish. However, these trade sanctions only amounted to about 0.04% of the trade between the two nations, which shows that these sanctions were made more for political reasons than economic ones. 
Pelosi’s visit was received as highly controversial. Advocates of the Democratic party and Taiwanese people viewed her visit positively due to Pelosi showing open support for democracy, while the US president Joe Biden discouraged her visit and stated that the Congress’s actions were separate from the White House. Some columnists from The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post also analyzed Pelosi’s visit negatively, stating that the visit was rash and would cause unnecessary international tensions. Although there are many different opinions regarding Pelosi’s visit, her visit inevitably affected the China-Taiwan relationship.