China’s official media sends indirect warnings to Nancy Pelosi over Taiwan visit

Communist mouthpiece repeated Xi Jinping’s warning not to play with fire, while other state outlets cited Donald Trump’s opposition to any visit

A less measured response came on the tightly controlled internet, with angry calls for direct military action if the US House Speaker visits the island

Reading Time:3 minutes

Nancy Pelosi has not confirmed whether she will visit Taiwan. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 9:00pm, 30 Jul 2022Updated: 9:24pm, 30 Jul 2022

The official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party has repeated President Xi Jinping’s warning against playing with fire over Taiwan, ahead of a possible visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The commentary in People’s Daily did not mention her by name, while other official outlets refrained from direct attacks on her, but did report warnings by former president Donald Trump against visiting.

Meanwhile, more fiery comments on social media – including calls for a direct military response – remained uncensored and went viral on the country’s tightly controlled internet.

Pelosi has declined to disclose details of her Asian trip citing security reason.

Saturday’s commentary, attributed to Zhong Sheng, a pen name often used for official comments on major issues concerning China’s foreign relations, repeated a statement by Xi during his two and a half-hour talk with US President Joe Biden earlier this week that “it was the will of 1.4 billion Chinese people to protect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“Public opinion cannot be defied and those who play with fire will definitely set themselves on fire. The US must see this point clearly and abide by the one-China principle with its words and deeds,” the commentary said.