Pelosi: America Stands By Taiwan But Doesn't Seek Status Quo Change

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has published an article in the Washington Post seeking to justify the reasons for her visit to Taiwan and attempting to assure Beijing that the trip does not signal a change in US policy towards the self governing island.

• Although Pelosi maintains that the Congressional delegation (CODEL) to Taiwan does not change the status quo, her article is full-throated in criticism of China's behaviour towards regional Democracies. According to Pelosi, "menacing" Chinese activity justifies her trip to the island.
• Pelosi: "Today, America must remember that vow. We must stand by Taiwan, which is an island of resilience."
• Pelosi: "Yet, disturbingly, this vibrant, robust democracy — named one of the freest in the world by Freedom House and proudly led by a woman, President Tsai Ing-wen — is under threat."
• Pelosi: "...the U.S. Defense Department [has] conclude[d] that China’s army is “likely preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force.”"
• As in the official statement released by her office a short time ago, Pelosi commits to "the long-standing one-China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances."
• Pelosi's article seeks to assure Beijing that the United States does not seek a change to the status quo. Rather it is the recent uptick in Chinese military activity in the Taiwan Strait, and beyond, which is threatening to upend the status quo.
• Pelosi: "America’s solidarity with Taiwan is more important today than ever — not only to the 23 million people of the island but also to millions of others oppressed and menaced by the PRC."
• Pelosi cites a crackdown against democracy movement in Hong Kong, "erasure of the Tibetan" language, "genocide against Muslim Uyghurs" in Xinjiang, and the persecution of catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen as examples of "Beijing’s abysmal human rights record and disregard for the rule of law continue, as President Xi Jinping tightens his grip on power."
• Pelosi concludes by drawing comparison with her visit to Kyiv in April and saying "by traveling to Taiwan, we honor our commitment to democracy: reaffirming that the freedoms of Taiwan — and all democracies — must be respected."