On Pelosi’s would-be visit to Taiwan

Plus, links to relief for Kentucky floods and the Taiwanese Innocence Project

Many of you, prompted by this alarming front-page New York Times article, wrote to ask our thoughts on Pelosi’s proposed Taiwan visit.

A recap: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was supposed to visit Taiwan earlier this year, but canceled her trip after getting COVID. Recently, though, rumors leaked that she’s planning to go in the next couple of weeks. Talk of this possible trip angered China, a notoriously thin-skinned bully that never misses an opportunity to thwart Taiwan’s attempts to gain international standing. So Beijing has threatened “firm and resolute measures” in response to a potential Pelosi visit; the Biden administration isn’t happy either, as President Biden has a upcoming meeting planned with China’s President Xi Jinping. Ironically, both the Biden and Xi administrations have converged on the possibility of military escalation to defer Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Pelosi herself has remained fairly silent, and has yet to confirm or deny the rumors.

In short, a lot of hurt feelin…