When news of Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan first broke in China’s state media late last month, there was a sense of shock and panic. Chinese press condemned the US, suggesting it was a breach of the “one-China principle” and that Joe Biden was “hypocritical” in saying he was unable to rein in the House speaker. For a few days, this message echoed across the country’s news outlets.
The fury resonated online through the writings of pundits and military bloggers. “The old witch,” some called Pelosi. “The old American woman,” others referred to her. Hu Xijin, a nationalist firebrand and former editor of the Global Times, even advised Chinese jets to obstruct Pelosi’s plane. And “if those are still ineffective, I think it is OK too to shoot down Pelosi’s plane”, he wrote, to much fanfare.
