TE24 International Desk:
A prominent Chinese commentator said Saturday that he had deleted a tweet warning of military retaliation if US fighter jets took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on any visit to Taiwan, after Twitter blocked his account.
Pelosi, third in the line of succession to the presidency of the United States, succeeds Joe. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris indicated on Friday that he would be traveling to Asia, Reuters reported.
He did not mention Taiwan, but Beijing claims speculation about his move to the democratically-ruled island has intensified in recent days, raising tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Biden in a phone call Thursday that Washington should comply.
One-China policy and “those who play with fire will perish by it.” Hu, former editor-in-chief of the state-run tabloid Global Times, wrote on China’s microblog Weibo: “I have conveyed the message: If the US military sends fighter jets to escort Pelosi to Taiwan, this action will take the outrageous nature of such a visit to another level and constitute aggression.” ”
If Pelosi were to visit Taiwan, Hu, a nationalist firebrand with a wide Twitter following, wrote, “We should deploy our fighter jets in all deterrence tactics.
If they’re still ineffective, I think Pelosi’s plane might as well be shot down.” said she had to delete the tweet to unlock her Twitter account, which was blocked because the tweet was deemed to violate the platform’s rules, and the account holder was removed.
On Friday, a White House national security spokesman said the United States had seen no evidence of Chinese military action against Taiwan, when asked about Pelosi’s possible visit to the island.
Visits by US officials to Taiwan are a source of tension in Beijing. and Washington, which does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is obligated by law to provide the island with means of self-defense.
The United States has a large military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, including around the South China Sea. A US aircraft carrier was passing by as part of what the US Navy said was a routine patrol
