Taiwan officials welcomed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she arrived in Taipei on Tuesday night.
She arrived at 10:44 pm at the Taipei Songshan Airport. She was met by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and other officials
Pelosi is the first sitting House speaker to come to the country since Newt Gingrich in 1997. She came despite threats of “forceful measures” from China. Last week, US President Joe Biden said “the military thinks it’s not a good idea” for her to visit at this time.
She will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday morning and visit Taiwan's legislature.
She is visiting Taiwan as part of her Asia tour to show support of allies here. Pelosi has said it is important to show support for Taiwan.
Throughout her career as a congresswoman, she has strongly opposed China’s human rights abuses. She has also pushed for China’s trade status to be linked to its human rights record.
Beginning Monday night, China increased military activity around Taiwan and also announced the ban of 3,000 food products from Taiwan.