Nancy Pelosi is heading for Taiwan.

Auburn WA

Description

Why is Nancy Pelosi heading to Taiwan? Is there a special reason Pelosi has decided to go or is she on another junket. BEIJING, July 25 (Reuters) - China delivered sterner warnings to U.S. officials about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday, confirming a report by the Financial Times (FT). The FT report, published on Saturday, cited six people familiar with the Chinese warnings as saying they were significantly stronger than the threats that Beijing has made in the past when it was unhappy with U.S. actions or policy on Taiwan, which is claimed by China. The private rhetoric suggested a possible military response, the FT cited several people familiar with the situation as saying. The White House National Security Council and the State Department declined to comment on the FT report. "We are seriously prepared," spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a regular briefing on Monday, when asked for comment about the contents of the report. When asked what kind of response China was "seriously prepared for" and if it would be a military or a diplomatic response Zhao said: "If the U.S. side is bent on going its own way, China will take strong measures to resolutely respond and counteract. Remember in Feb. 2020 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi toured San Francisco's Chinatown Monday to send a message. She said there's no reason tourists or locals should be staying away from the area because of coronavirus concerns. "That’s what we’re trying to do today is to say everything is fine here," Pelosi said. "Come because precautions have been taken. The city is on top of the situation." Pelosi visited The Wok Shop, a temple and the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, which was started 58 years ago by owner Kevin Chan's mother and uncle. Chan said his business is losing about $500-$800 a day, or about 70% on average. He believes the fear of the virus is racially motivated. "I think it's because even if I walk out and cough a little bit — my throat is itchy — they look at me, 'Oh,' like this, 'scary,'" he said. As Pelosi walked from the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory to lunch at a dim sum restaurant, she hugged friends and waved to onlookers. She downplayed the racism issue, saying she understands people are concerned about China – the epicenter of the novel coronavirus. "But that shouldn’t be carried over to Chinatown in San Francisco," she said. "I hope that it’s not that. But all I can say is, 'I’m here.' We feel safe and sound, so many of us coming here." I hope she will test for Covid-19 before she leaves for her trip. I can just see the headlines now. Pelosi spreads Covid to Asian countries.