U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan. Though the California Democrat didn’t stay long, less than 24 hours, the fallout from her visit plunges the Biden administration into a tricky — and arguably unnecessary — period of brinkmanship with China.
In her meeting with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, Pelosi didn’t say anything America hasn’t said before about Taiwan, China and democracy. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” the speaker said. “America’s determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains ironclad.”
Equally unsurprising was Pelosi’s desire to make the trip. In her 35 years in Congress, she has built a reputation as one of Washington’s staunchest critics of China’s disregard for human rights.
