Home WritersEditorial Shadows in the Strait

Shadows in the Strait

Paulo Rego*

There is a question in the air for which it is not possible to see a complete answer. In the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine; with the economic crisis rapidly accelerating, with exacerbated nationalism proliferating around the world, with international tension over China…

Why the hell did Nancy Pelosi remember, at this precise moment, to set foot in Taipei?

It certainly wasn’t to bring Beijing closer to Western relations. What is public is that Beijing’s response, obviously expected, was exaggerated and disproportionate. This suggests other readings on the internal stability of the Communist Party.

The political, economic, historical and geographical importance of Taiwan is unavoidable. The compilation of data published on pages 10/11 of this issue explains a lot.

But they do not measure the psychological factor or the importance of the show of force for the national ego and for the leadership of Xi Jinping. The brawny reaction is the only one that makes sense in Chinese political culture. We know it in Macau, everyone knows it in Taipei, and Nancy Pelosi knows it – and much more.

The third figure of the State in the US went to Taipei to assume support in the defense of democracy, exposing itself to the classic accusation of interference in internal affairs and the risk of one day having to go ahead with a show of force.

For his part, Xi Jinping reacted like a wounded animal when the backyard is invaded… and exposing himself to another classic thesis, according to which disproportionate reactions reveal insecurity and internal weaknesses.

At this tense moment there is also a peaceful clarification. Nancy Pelosi, in the attempt to attack Xi Jinping, in the same sentence in which she accuses him of reacting like a “frightened tyrant”, explains that she does not see where the problem lies because nothing has changed in relation to the “One China” policy.

And that was what China wanted to hear. Pelosi didn’t say so in Taipei. She told him to put ice on the Chinese reaction. And if she hadn’t gone there, she wouldn’t even have had to say it. In fact, it is not clear what he was doing there.

But she and Joe Biden know it well.

We will see what future signs reveal to us why the two powers are poking each other in one of the most sensitive points of tension in the modern world, at the worst possible time.

*PLATAFORMA Director General

Contact Us

Generalist media, focusing on the relationship between Portuguese-speaking countries and China.

Plataforma Studio

Newsletter

Subscribe Plataforma Newsletter to keep up with everything!