Taiwan will not back down, says President Tsai as China readies military drills over Pelosi visit

Taiwan, 3/8:Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen struck a defiant tone Wednesday as she hosted US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a furious China gearing up for major military exercises around the island in retaliation for the visit.

Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday despite a series of increasingly stark warnings and threats from Beijing, which views the island as its territory and has said it would consider her visit a major provocation.

China responded swiftly, warning the US ambassador in Beijing of “extremely serious consequences” and announcing military drills around Taiwan.