October 7, 2026

Tsai Ing-wen. Nancy Pelosi. Former Taiwan regional leader. Former US House speaker. A pair of "old friends" recycling the same old script against the times.

It has been reported that Tsai, the former leader of the Taiwan region, embarked on a week-long visit to the US on Monday local time. A politically "symbolic" stop on her itinerary occurred on Tuesday when she met with former US House speaker Pelosi. Tsai referred to Pelosi as an "old friend," while Pelosi declared that the "bond" between the US and the Taiwan region is "strong." 

For both, the meeting comes with their own political calculations. Tong Liqun, a research fellow at the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Studies of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times that with Taiwan's local elections approaching in November, Tsai is attempting to invoke Pelosi's provocative 2022 visit, showcasing the so-called "achievements" of relying on the US to seek "Taiwan independence." She aims to revive public memories of her political legacy, and carve out space in the election narrative. For Pelosi, who has been marginalized in US politics, her previous visit to Taiwan was considered a defining episode of her political career. Thus, the meeting offers her another platform to reassert a political role from the past.

Read more:

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1371795.shtml