Opinion | Warning to Pelosi: It's not too late to pull back from the brink
By Philip Yeung, university teacher
PKY480@gmail.com
This is the moment of truth. Nancy Pelosi's brinkmanship is approaching its endgame.
The latest news out of Taipei is that Pelosi will land in Taiwan tonight, August 2, under cover of darkness. She will overnight there for an early meeting with the Taiwan leader at 8am, departing by 10 am. This specificity is supposed to give the news believability, and is seen as a major scoop by a Taiwan newspaper. But Taiwan's leader may be deliberately using it to leak this news to test Beijing's reaction. She and Pelosi will closely monitor Beijing's next move before deciding whether the visit is on or off.
China has repeatedly issued its stark and unmistakable warning. Unlike America, China doesn't believe in bluffing. It is a straightforward player. By issuing the warning, it is putting its credibility on the line, both at home and abroad.
Pelosi's little game of chicken is no longer about her visit. It is about the dignity and territorial integrity of a sovereign nation plus the heavy weight of history. For the Chinese, those days when they could be bullied into submission are gone forever. The legitimacy of the Chinese government is at stake. There is no room for second-guessing, no time for hesitancy. China is putting all eggs in one basket. If Pelosi sneaks into Taiwan, China will act and she will pay, along with the rest of the world, for her foolishness and rashness.
Will this be the turning point, not just in US-China relations, but in the history of humanity---and all because one narcissistic old woman wants to make a grand statement for her own personal glory? Will the earth be incinerated by Pelosi's Point of No Return?
Be in no doubt that China's military won't sit idly by and swallow this national insult. What happens next will separate the real tiger from the paper tiger, and China won't be the latter.
By deleting Taiwan from her list of official visits, Pelosi may be trying to give herself some tactical flexibility and room for maneuver. If she judges that this is enough to disarm China's anger, she will proceed to visit Taiwan unofficially. If not, she can scrap Taipei from her travel plans. Against advice from Biden and her military, she is playing her game to the hilt.
There are 89 people in the US delegation, many members of congress. For them, last night must have been a sleepless night, wondering what the dawn will bring. Will they be sacrificial lambs on Pelosi's altar or live to play diplomats in Tokyo and Seoul? Will they have second thoughts about Pelosi's dangerous folly?
It is tragic that Pelosi and her fellow delegates know so little about the country that means so much to the future of America and the world. All they see is the communist label, blind to its spectacular achievements, Confucian culture and belief in the universal ideal of shared prosperity. Their ignorance about China is endangering the world.
We are now hours away from humanity's moment of maximum danger. Is America prepared to wage wars on two fronts simultaneously, one by proxy in Ukraine, another accidental one over Taiwan, which, let's not forget, its One-China policy recognizes as an integral part of China? Will America let itself be pushed into a history-ending Armageddon by a petty old woman who would do anything to score a point?
Today, the peace of the world is hanging by a thread. Will Pelosi snap it to spite China, or will she come to her senses in the nick of time?
In the Chinese calendar, the 7th moon is the Month of Ghosts, when the gates of hell are gaping open to receive the dead. Not a propitious time for Pelosi and company to tempt fate.
Nancy Pelosi and her fellow delegates should know that even for the foolhardy, the bottom of the ocean is an icy and unwelcoming place.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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