US House Speaker Pelosi meets Taiwanese president, officials and activists on controversial visit

As Chinese mainland officials condemned the visit by the highest-ranking official from the United States to visit Taiwan in 25 years, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged support for the self-ruled island’s democracy. Leading a congressional delegation, Pelosi arrived for an unannounced visit late on August 2, 2022, defying China's repeated warnings. The following day, she met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who thanked Pelosi by awarding her a medal of honour. Pelosi also met Hong Kong bookstore owner Lam Wing-kee as well as a former Tiananmen demonstrator and a Taiwanese activist. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunited by force if necessary. It warns against official ties with Taiwan, which most countries don’t recognise as a sovereign state. The US acknowledges the one-China principle, but opposes moves to take Taiwan by force.