UN, 2 August – RIA Novosti. China’s envoy to the UN, Zhang Jun, said that if US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, China will do everything in its power to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Pelosi’s Asia tour, which will take her to Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, comes with increased global attention following reports of her plans to visit Taiwan. If the visit to the Chinese island takes place despite Beijing’s protests, it will be the first visit by a US House of Representatives spokesperson since 1997. The US administration, warned by the Chinese president of the “burn risks of playing with fire”, assured Beijing of its adherence to the “one China” policy, but shied away from a possible visit, saying the speaker made the decisions himself. Taiwanese media reported that he could come to the island on Tuesday and meet with the island administration’s leadership on Wednesday. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm these reports.

The PRC considers the island its own province and always opposes any contact between Taipei representatives and current officials, especially senior officials or the military of countries with which Beijing has diplomatic relations.

News of a possible visit to the island by Pelosi, whom Beijing calls the third most important official in the US government, received a very negative reaction from China, as expected. China’s Foreign Ministry said that if Pelosi visits Beijing Island, it will definitely take decisive and effective measures to protect the state’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that the United States will be fully responsible for all the serious consequences this will entail. At the same time, China’s official departments did not specify what kind of decisive measures they are talking about.