Communist Chinese Experts Suggested Shooting Down Pelosi’s Plane During Her Trip to Taiwan

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of a Communist Chinese official media, said on Friday that if U.S. fighter jets escorted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would shoot down Pelosi’s plane.

If U.S. fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is an invasion, Hu wrote on Twitter. The PLA has the power to forcibly disperse Pelosi’s aircraft and U.S. warplanes, including firing warnings and tactically moving obstacles. If that does not work, shoot it down.

The Communist demagogue, known for his belligerent editorials against the United States and its allies, made the remarks as Pelosi planned to begin his trip to Asia. Beijing has repeatedly warned the United States that the Speaker’s potential visit to Taiwan would hurt diplomatic relations.

The U.S. military said Pelosi’s expected trip to the island was not a good idea. At the same time, Republican leaders, including Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, encouraged Pelosi to continue the trip. Both the Beijing-based People’s Republic of China and the Taipei-based Republic of China adhere to the “one-China principle.” That is, both sides agree to the existence of a single, unified Chinese form of government that includes the territory of both governments, yet both claim to apply their own rules to each other’s territories.

Fears that the Chinese government is using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a touchstone for its actions on Taiwan, tensions between the United States and China are at an all-time high.