China Threatens to Shoot Down Pelosi’s Flight, Pompeo Urges Her Not to Cancel Taiwan Trip

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will leave this weekend on a trip to Asia where she is expected to make stops at Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

All eyes will be on the latter part of her trip, to see if she goes ahead with her planned trip to Taiwan.

The US has not clarified whether Nancy Pelosi will indeed land in Taipei and meet Taiwan’s leaders but this issue was raised by Chinese president Xi Jinping during his virtual meeting with US president Joe Biden, earlier this week.

Xi ended the meet warning Biden by telling him ‘not to play with fire’.

According to Politico, Pentagon officials are preparing for Pelosi’s trip.

Pelosi, if she decides to make a stop at Taiwan, will be landing in Taipei on a US military aircraft.

But there are chances that her aircraft could be shot down by China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air force jets.

Chinese state media commentator and Global Times editor Hu Xijin on Twitter threatened that Pelosi will be ‘forcibly dispelled’.

“If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is an invasion. The Chinese military 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," Xijin wrote in a tweet, which was removed later due to violation of Twitter rules.

In his editorial, Hu said that Pelosi will pay the cost of ‘her performance’: “In a word, we have ways to raise the risk of Pelosi’s “performance" through the visit, greatly increase the cost of her performance, and boost the price she has to pay. Let Pelosi deeply realize that Taiwan island is not a place where she can run wild."

Usually such high-profile trips and the itineraries are often kept under wraps but a public jostling online and offline has begun between Democrats and Republicans regarding the trip and could force Pelosi to follow through with her planned visit to Taipei despite the warnings.

It is noteworthy that Pelosi is an expert when it comes to angering China as evidenced by her 1991 visit to Beijing.

Pelosi was once chased away from the Tiananmen Square after she unfurled a banner without the permission of her Chinese hosts when she visited Beijing two years after the Communist Party of China (CPC) crushed protestors.

However, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, said if required he will accompany Nancy Pelosi on her possible trip to Taiwan. “Nancy, I’ll go with you. I’m banned in China, but not freedom-loving Taiwan. See you there," Pompeo tweeted.

Pompeo also told Biden to not give in to Xi’s threats: “CCP-mouthpiece The Global Times threatens Pelosi’s plane will be shot down if she visits Taiwan. President Biden must give full support to this visit. Don’t be weak and cave to the demands of petty warmongers and dictators in Beijing. Support the freedom-loving people of Taiwan.

The House Foreign Affairs Chair Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York said China should concentrate on answering for their human rights abuses in Xinjiang province. “We can’t be bullied by anyone," Meeks was quoted as saying by Politico.

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