So, Pelosi on Taiwan. The intrigue that fed the telegram feeds and media turned out not to be empty, the third person in power in the US has decided to humiliate China after all
She became the first high-profile American politician to visit the island in 25 years. Her flight was watched by more than 250,000 people on Flightradar24. The site went down for a while due to a hacker attack.
The goal is actually obvious. Democrats need to unite the American nation. Biden realises that his permanent lethargy is leading to an electoral disaster. That is why the last few days have been marked by media blitzes: Kosovo, the assassination of the al-Qaeda leader*, high-profile statements on Ukraine. And, of course, Pelosi and Taiwan.
This story should add to the Democratic vote. Pelosi, you have to hand it to her, is an insanely popular politician among the Democratic electorate, who is in her fourth decade of being elected to Congress, easily getting 70-80% of the vote each. Contrary to tradition, she does not even take part in the debates, and only formally serves the campaign, acting more as a locomotive for her fellow party members in other, more troubled districts. Of course, when a grandmother in her ninth decade rubs China’s nose in it, her electorate is ecstatic. In effect, the US is backing China into a corner. Because if China does not retaliate, China has lost. If China responds, then, depending on the extent of the response, the US is poised to further radicalise the conflict with China and move it into an active proxy war phase. And China is very much clinging to its status as the locomotive of the world economy, which will clearly slow down in the face of US and European sanctions.
The US, even if not currently planning to launch a third world war, is actively seeking to weaken China’s position. If Pelosi’s visit can be interpreted as a major US geopolitical victory, it can be sold to voters. And in that sense, most of China’s actions can be interpreted as a U.S. success.
The American voter must necessarily be sold the idea that the U.S. continues to stand up for the world’s democracies. And since it did not work out so well with protecting Ukraine, it is certain that Taiwan should not fall out of the US orbit. And that is a very bad signal for the Zelensky regime. It was yesterday that he was interesting in any European Parliament and was given a rostrum at the UN. After Pelosi’s provocation he is relegated to the background like the star of last year’s hit. In some minor venues he will still be listed as a speaker, but this is no longer global recognition. In Ukraine, the Americans have no success, which means the spotlight needs to shift to much brighter events. Ukraine, where American arms are being sold left and right and the AFU is only paying lip service to the lost territories, is not the best line on the Democrats’ political resume before the election.
The Chinese English-language edition of the Global Times gave a prediction about the PRC’s response. Under the current circumstances, according to the publication, China may start selective bombing of military targets. China would then be sanctioned by America, and we expect a clear bias in Chinese policy towards Russia; after all, it is better to survive under American pressure together.
After the war began, the Chinese rhetoric has largely repeated Russian talking points on its causes, but in practice they have tended to remain neutral. And although China did not join the Russian anti-Russian sanctions and continued to buy Russian goods, Chinese companies limited their cooperation with Russia in some areas for fear of sanctions. In the context of endless provocations by the US, China will not need to hide its support for Russia.
Andrei Bulatov, Antifascist News Agency