Amid rising tensions with China post US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, US senator Marsha Blackburn on Thursday became the latest member of Congress to visit the self-governed island, outrightly defying pressure from Beijing. Vowing not to be bullied by China, she said, “Xi Jinping doesn’t scare me.” “I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island.
Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific region. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are a long-standing US policy,” Blackburn said in a statement, reported CNN. In a series of tweets, the US senator, who does not represent the Biden administration, reiterated her support for Taiwan, reported CNN. “I will never kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party,” she said in one.
“I will continue to stand with the (Taiwanese) and their right to freedom and democracy. Xi Jinping doesn’t scare me,” she added later, referring to China’s leader. The trip by Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, follows several recent visits by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other US officials.
The visit by Pelosi, who earlier this month became the highest-ranking US official to touch down on the island in 25 years, was cited by Beijing as the trigger for several days of large-scale military exercises in which China fired missiles over Taiwan and several Chinese.