Let’s be clear: Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan was not a great opportunity to show America’s support for the island; it did not chasten Beijing to exert greater restraint toward Taipei. To the contrary—countless China and foreign policy specialists predicted it would produce a major, likely sustained, coercive Chinese reaction that will deepen our current slide toward conflict in the Sino-U.S. relationship.
And guess what? That is exactly what is now happening.
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan was a stunt, likely intended as a last hurrah before leaving office as speaker of the House, designed to cement her legacy as a tough opponent of China and upholder of human rights.
