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Beijing: In the latest bout of aggression from the Chinese side over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Beijing said that the kind of democracy referred to by Pelosi is “like nothing but a robe with lice crawling all over it which may look opulent from a distance, but could not stand close scrutiny.”
These remarks were made by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying as the country continues to flex its muscle in the South China sea in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
“We see the empty pledge and so-called strength of this type of democracy from what the US military has done in Iraq and Syria and from its retreat from Kabul,” she added.
China has sent 27 aircraft to Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) hours after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plane left Taipei following Pelosi’s high-stakes visit that has spiked tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Shortly after, China started firing its verbal bullets. “From the Capitol Riots, the death of George Floyd, the Robb Elementary School shooting, and America’s over 1 million COVID deaths, we see the hypocrisy and cold-bloodedness of the kind of democracy Pelosi referred to. The kind of democracy referred to by Pelosi is like nothing but a robe with lice crawling all over it. It may look opulent from a distance, but couldn’t stand close scrutiny,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The spokesperson noted that the US has reneged on its commitments, openly played with fire and pitted itself against the 1.4 billion Chinese people, and said that none of this will end well.
“Will Pelosi go down in history with a favourable or foul reputation because of this stunt? History will give a fair answer,” she continued saying.
“Pelosi is pitting herself against one-fifth of the world’s population and making a provocation to the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. People will not be fooled. Public opinion cannot be defied.”
Condemning Pelosi’s visit, the spokesperson said, “you can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep”.
This exposes her sinister motive of using human rights as a pretext to interfere in other countries internal affairs, undermine China’s stability and contain China’s development.
She said that China was forced to “speak” to them in a way and with the “language” that they can understand.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson added that the root cause of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait is that the Taiwan authorities have been soliciting US support to seek “Taiwan independence”, and certain individuals in the US intend to use the Taiwan question to contain China.
‘One-China’ policy is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government. Under the policy, the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland one day.
“When the one-China principle is followed, the Taiwan Strait would remain calm and tranquil. When the one-China principle is wilfully challenged or even sabotaged, there would be dark clouds or even violent storms across the Taiwan Strait.”
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan came to an end Wednesday as she departed from the self-ruled island after a short and gripping trip that upped the ante in the Taiwan Strait.
The US Speaker issued a statement in which she described her tour as a “strong statement that America stands with Taiwan.” She said that visit is part of broader travels in the Indo-Pacific, focused on security, prosperity and governance – on which Taiwan is a global leader.
The US House Speaker, who is second in line to the Oval Office after the US vice-president, said Taiwan is a very special place and added that America’s solidarity with the people of Taiwan is more important today than ever.
“Our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as a strong statement that America stands with Taiwan,” Pelosi said in the statement. “We came to Taiwan to listen to, learn from and show our support for the people of Taiwan, who have built a thriving democracy that stands as one of the freest and most open in the world.”
The US has continued to state that this trip in no way contradicts long standing United States policy on the self-governed island. China, meanwhile, says Pelosi’s Taiwan visit was a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the joint communique signed between the two countries.
