After Twitter disables account, a Chinese nationalist commentator deletes Pelosi tweet
POLITICAL WARRIOR, Hu Xijin, a well-known Chinese pundit, stated on Saturday that he had removed an earlier tweet that threatened military action if U.S. fighter planes accompanied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
After Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Pelosi is the third-in-line to be president of the United States, and she announced on Friday that she will be travelling to Asia.
Taiwan was not specifically mentioned, but anticipation that she may visit the democratically-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own, is heating things up across the Taiwan Strait.
He told Biden on the phone that “those who play with fire will die by it,” as he put it, when it comes to the one-China policy.
Chinese microblog Weibo is home to Hu, the former editor in chief of China’s official newspaper Global Times. Hu says he has sent the word that sending fighter planes to accompany Pelosi to Taiwan will elevate the vileness of the visit and constitute aggression.
“Our fighter aircraft should deploy all obstructive methods. If they are still ineffectual, I believe it is appropriate too to take down Pelosi’s plane,” tweeted Hu, a nationalist firebrand with a large Twitter following.
After Twitter barred Hu’s account for violating the platform’s rules, he was forced to erase the offending message. This allowed him to regain access to his Twitter account.
In response to Reuters’ request for comment, Twitter did not immediately react.
Pelosi was queried about a prospective trip to Taiwan by a White House national security spokeswoman on Friday, and the official stated that the United States has not witnessed any approaching Chinese military action against Taiwan.
Even though the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is legally obligated to equip the island with the tools to defend itself.
The United States maintains a major military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, notably near the South China Sea, where a U.S. aircraft carrier is now sailing as part of a normal patrol.
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