Nancy Pelosi expresses 'unwavering' support for Taiwan

Nancy Pelosi met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Wednesday, where the US House of Representatives Speaker described the island nation as "one of the freest societies in the world."

Pelosi expressed the United States' "unwavering" support for Taiwan as she accepted a civilian honor, the Order of the Propitious Clouds, presented to her by President Tsai.

The encounter came after she met with senior lawmakers earlier in the day.

"We wish to cooperate and work in unity with all democracies around the world," Tsai said after presenting Pelosi with the award.

The president said that Taiwan "will not back down" in the face of "deliberately heightened military threat," in an apparent reference to Chinese pressure.

What has Pelosi said so far?

Pelosi, along with six other US lawmakers, arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday in an unannounced — yet highly anticipated — visit, protested by Beijing. She is the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

"We come in friendship to Taiwan. We come in peace to the region," Pelosi said during televised remarks at the start of her talks.

She was scheduled to meet with Taiwan's parliament speaker You Si-Kun, but was instead received by the legislature's vice president, Tsai Chi-Chang, after You tested positive for COVID.

Speaking next to the senior lawmaker, Pelosi said she was seeking to increase parliamentary exchanges with Taipei. She also spoke about a new US legislation that could provide opportunities for cooperation in the semiconductor industry between the US and Taiwan, one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers.

"We commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world," Pelosi told Taiwan's parliament.

Later, after meeting with President Tsai, Pelosi said: "The story of Taiwan is an inspiration to all freedom-loving people."

"Now more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that is the message we're bringing today," she said.

Pelosi is also set to meet with Hong Kong and Taiwan pro-democracy activists later in the day.

How has China responded?

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Pelosi's visit was damaging stability in the Taiwan Strait, which separates mainland China and Taiwan.

The ministry summoned US Ambassador Nicholas Burns late on Tuesday and warned that Washington "shall pay the price" for Pelosi's visit.    

"The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious," China's deputy Foreign Minister Xie Feng was quoted as saying by the state news agency Xinhua.

Beijing, which considers the self-governing island as part of its own territory, had threatened repercussions to the visit, and announced that it would launch live-fire military drills around Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday.

Before Pelosi's arrival, Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait. China's Defense Ministry also said the military was put on high alert and would launch "targeted military operations" in response to the visit.

On Wednesday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said China's drills encircling the island posed a threat to key ports and urban areas, vowing  "strengthened" defenses.

Tokyo also raised concern over the military exercises, with government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno saying they overlapped with Japan's exclusive economic zone.

"Considering the live-fire training nature of this military activity, Japan has expressed concerns to the Chinese side," Matsuno told reporters.