Pelosi has ‘right’ to visit Taiwan

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a “right” to go to Taiwan and China should not turn her still unconfirmed visit to the island into a “crisis,” a senior US official said Monday.

“The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan,” John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters.

“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding US policies into some sort of crisis,” he said.

This handout picture taken and released by Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information on August 1, 2022, shows Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob (R) shaking hands with US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the Istana Presidential Palace in Singapore during a visit to the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo by Handout / Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information / AFP)