Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan: record number of people watch US Speaker’s flight to Taipei on internet

708,000 people watched the landing of flight SPAR19 in Taipei on Tuesday in real time, more than any other flight before according to Flightradar24
Meanwhile, Taiwan is negotiating to find substitute aviation routes, after China announced drills the trade-reliant island said were like a ‘blockade’

Taiwan

dpa

Published: 5:18pm, 3 Aug 2022

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Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s flight from Malaysia to Taiwan, accompanied by Chinese threats, has set a record for the flight observation service Flightradar24.

More than 708,000 people watched the landing of flight SPAR19 in Taipei on Tuesday evening in real time, more than any other flight before, the Swedish internet service announced in the early hours of Wednesday.

A total of 2.92 million people followed at least part of the flight on its seven-hour route from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, according to the service.

According to the service’s data, Pelosi’s flight avoided the direct route over the South China Sea. Instead, the aircraft first flew east over Indonesia and then north past the Philippines.

A screen capture of flight tracking website Flightradar24 showing the flying route of Flight SPAR19. Photo: Handout

The route of the flight could be followed in real time on a map on the website of the internet service. The huge rush had temporarily caused difficulties for the site’s infrastructure, Flightradar24 announced further.

The 82-year-old US politician had left open until the last minute whether she would also visit the democratic island republic of Taiwan off the coast of China between visits to Malaysia and South Korea.

China had threatened countermeasures and held out the prospect of military action. Shortly before Pelosi’s arrival, Chinese fighter jets flew over the Taiwan Strait sea lane.

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and strictly rejects official contacts between other countries and Taipei.

04:57

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives in Taiwan as Beijing announces live-fire military drills

Taiwan seeks alternative aviation routes

Meanwhile, Taiwan is negotiating with neighbouring Japan and the Philippines to find alternative aviation routes, the official Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Wednesday, after China announced drills that the trade-reliant island said amounted to a “blockade”.

CNA reported, citing transport minister Wang Kwo-tsai, that there is no need for global chip manufacturing hub Taiwan to find alternatives for sea transport because ships can avoid Chinese drill zones.

Additional reporting Reuters

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