Chinese President Xi Jinping recently warned the United States not to “play with fire” over Taiwan. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to play with fire by showing up, chatting with Taiwanese leaders, offering citizens a moment of hope and giving Xi an excuse for violence.
His more expert means of playing with fire has been shouting maniacal threats, keeping warplanes flying over Taiwan and rolling out weaponry apparently to ready the military in the killing of Taiwanese multitudes in a war of worldwide consequence.
President Joe Biden, the U.S. military and a variety of government officials were not enthusiastic about the Pelosi visit, seeking to avoid risking a lot for very little. Others said running from rhetoric would make us look like cowards, causing allies to flee our protection despite our Ukraine vigor. Belligerent, cruel and dictatorial as he runs for a third term as the kind of president he thinks everyone wants, Xi embraces a historical aim of the world’s largest nation also becoming its dominant power while going unpunished for punishing others.
