Nancy Pelosi’s short trip to Taiwan didn’t go unnoticed, it’s safe to say.
While the world watched the US House speaker meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and pro-democracy activists, China’s reaction can only be described as furious. Saying “those who play with fire will perish by it,” the government responded with several days of intense military drills in the Taiwan Strait, then placed sanctions upon Pelosi and Taiwan.
The trip has been described as a “reckless gamble,” an “egregious provocation” and “not a good idea right now” by people in both the US and China (that last quote was US President Joe Biden’s), but Matthew Brooker has to hand it to Pelosi for nailing the optics. Explaining her reasoning in a Washington Post op-ed, she portrayed the self-ruled island as a model democracy and free society that’s increasingly menaced by its giant authoritarian neighbor.
Optically, there are clear parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a potential Chinese military campaign against Taiwan. As Russia’s military dwarfed Ukraine’s at the outset, so too does China’s over Taiwan’s:
Lara Williams is a social media editor for Bloomberg Opinion. @lararhiannonw and writes is the Editor of Bloomberg Opinion Today Newsletter. Energiesnet.com does not necessarily share these views.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Bloomberg, on July 29, 2022. All comments posted and published on EnergiesNet.com, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of EnergiesNet.com or Petroleumworld.
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