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Nancy Pelosi has suggested that China’s furious response to her Taiwan trip may be sexist.
At a joint news conference with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, Ms. Pelosi noted that recent visits by top U.S. male lawmakers had not produced the ruckus and threats seen in recent days.
“I think they made a big fuss because I’m a speaker I guess,” he said. “I don’t know if that was a reason or an excuse, because they didn’t say anything when the men came.”
Beijing warned the US was “playing with fire” and launched live-fire drills as Ms Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night, portraying the House Speaker’s visit as an affront to her ambitions to “reunify” with Taiwan.
The inflammatory rhetoric was in stark contrast to previous visits by US lawmakers, such as when a bipartisan group including Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham made an unannounced trip to Taiwan in April.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry then issued a relatively mild rebuke to say that the US should “cease official contacts with Taiwan and refrain from proceeding further down a dangerous path.”
On the Chinese social media site Weibo, Ms. Pelosi is often referred to as the “Old Witch,” according to the US-based news site. SUP China.
Nancy Pelosi met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen before departing Wednesday
(Getty Images)
Author Leta Hong Fincher wrote in a 2018 opinion piece on the Washington Postthat President Xi Jinping’s hold on power was part of a “supermasculine personality cult.”
“The Communist Party aggressively perpetuates traditional gender norms and confines women to their roles as reproductive tools for the state, responsible wives, mothers, and homemakers in order to minimize social unrest and produce future generations of skilled workers.”
Chinese-American journalist Melissa Chan tweeted that Chinese authoritarianism is “inextricably linked to misogyny.”
Pelosi: “They didn’t say anything when the men came.” Reference to the fact that in April, US Senators Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez, Richard Burr, Ben Sasse, Rob Portman and Ronny Jackson visited Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/TwW8t36Bxy
— Melissa Chan (@melissakchan) August 3, 2022
“Friends — it doesn’t have to be either/or. “Beijing may struggle because Pelosi is Speaker of the House, which makes the visit different, AND the fact that she is a woman is particularly energizing,” he said.
Ms Pelosi said the US should not be intimidated by Chinese threats and show it is committed to Taiwan’s security.
“I don’t know if there are certain insecurities on the part of the Chinese president about his own political situation that he is rattling the sword. It doesn’t really matter.”
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