The White House on Friday backed up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on having ‘every right’ to visit Taiwan, even after the blowback that has ensued, with Beijing engaging in a series of escalatory steps including war games around the island.
The defense came even as White House officials once again chided Beijing for its ‘bellicose rhetoric’ amid tensions in the region.
‘The speaker had every right every right. It is her right to have gone to Taiwan,’ White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday, when asked if Pelosi bears any blame for the apparent rupture in Sino-U.S. relations and if it could grow even worse.
‘Members of Congress make those decisions. We do not tell them what they can or cannot do or where they can travel. We’ve said this many times before,’ she continued. ‘We provide a full, thorough briefing when they do travel. And, and so again, there was no reason to have this escalation that we’re seeing from China. You know, it is it is fundamentally irresponsible,’ she added.
The White House has long defended the right of Pelosi and other lawmakers to travel. But earlier, it had done so after news of the probable trip had leaked – But China had yet to take concrete steps in response.
The stance continued even after Beijing compared its treatment to that of George Floyd, and said it would back away from cooperation on climate issues and even roll back defense contacts with U.S. counterparts.
Click here to read more.
Source: Daily Mail
BCNN1 WP 