Chinese propagandist: Beijing must shoot down Pelosi’s plane to Taiwan, #Chinese #propagandist #Beijing #Pelosis #Airplane #Taiwan Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
Hu Xijin, former editor of China’s state-run Global Times and a leading Communist propagandist, took his increasingly combative rhetoric against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) rumored visit to Taiwan on Friday into a final decision by advising the People’s Liberation Army ( PLA) to shoot down Pelosi’s plane, along with her US Air Force escorts.
“If US fighter jets fly *Pelosi’s plane to Taiwan, so be it” [an] invasion,” Hu argued.
If US fighter jets fly *Pelosi’s plane to Taiwan, that’s an invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dislodge Pelosi’s plane and US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movements of obstacles. If they are ineffective, shoot them. https://t.co/V7LhrXgXoM
— Hu Xijin Hu Xijin (@HuXijin_GT) July 29, 2022
“The PLA has the right to forcibly dislodge Pelosi’s plane and US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movements of obstacles. If they aren’t effective, shoot them,” he said.
Hu’s outburst was prompted by: reports that Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, reportedly scheduled for April but postponed after she contracted the Wuhan coronavirus, could take place this weekend. Pelosi had previously mentioned traveling to Taiwan sometime in August, but there was no set date yet. Neither she nor her office have confirmed a planned trip to Taiwan.
Pelosi sets off today with a group of other US lawmakers on an Asia tour with announced stops in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. A stopover in Taiwan had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
“I never talk about my travels. It’s a danger to me,” Pelosi said when asked by reporters on Wednesday to confirm her itinerary.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Pentagon has plans in place to escort Pelosi to Taiwan if she continues her visit, including “overlapping rings of protection,” which include fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and surface ships.
“If a decision has been made that Chairman Pelosi or anyone else is going to travel and they have requested military support, we will do whatever it takes to make their visit safe. And I’ll leave it at that,” said Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley.
President Joe Biden vaguely stated last week that the US military believes that a Pelosi visit to Taiwan would not be a good idea at this time. The White House and the Pentagon have so far declined to comment on this statement.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have urged Pelosi to visit Taiwan as planned, saying China should not dictate the travel plans of US officials. On the other hand, Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) strongly suggested on Wednesday that Pelosi would back down, as “escalating tensions with China” would create a “significant distraction” for the Biden administration.
Hu Xijin apparently wants that diversion to include World War III. Last week, he suggested that the PLA should force Pelosi’s plane into Chinese territory, kidnapping the Speaker and other US lawmakers traveling with her. He also suggested sending PLA fighter jets to shadow Pelosi all the way to the tarmac in Taipei, or shutting down all Taiwanese aviation with a no-fly zone, which would all be acts of war.
Chinese government officials have been a little less bloodthirsty than Hu in their public statements, but they have still suggested a military crisis could arise if Pelosi visits Taiwan.
On Thursday, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping told Biden that China’s “public opinion” about Taiwan could not be denied, and “those who play with fire will perish.”