Just hours ahead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned trip to Asia, Chinese state media has threatened to shoot down her plane and U.S. military pilots escorting her.
If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down. https://t.co/V7LhrXgXoM
— Hu Xijin ??? (@HuXijin_GT) July 29, 2022
The threat comes 24-hours after President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for two hours on a call from the White House. The communist government’s readout of the conversation also included a threat in response to Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan.
"Those who play with fire will only get burnt," the Chinese president told Biden during a phone call. "Hope the U.S. side can see this clearly."
— Hümeyra Pamuk (@humeyra_pamuk) July 28, 2022
China firmly opposes Taiwan independence and the interference of external forces, Xi said.
For days Republican lawmakers have defended Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, an allied country to the U.S., and have stressed communist Chinese officials cannot dictate where Americans choose to travel.
“Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan and President Biden should make it abundantly clear to Chairman Xi that there’s not a damn thing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it. No more feebleness and self-deterrence. This is very simple: Taiwan is an ally and the Speaker of the House of Representatives should meet with the Taiwanese men and women who stare down the threat of Communist China," Republican Senator Ben Sasse.
President Biden has failed repeatedly to defend Pelosi’s trip.
John Kirby refuses to say whether or not Nancy Pelosi should travel to Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/cXq2bLVrKr
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 27, 2022
A CCP propaganda mouthpiece says the PLA could murder the Speaker of the House for a lawful trip, a day after @POTUS spent 2+ hours talking to Xi. Speaks volumes about Beijing’s regard for Biden. https://t.co/IIuLAMp1Re
— Mary Kissel (@marykissel) July 29, 2022
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