The former chief editor of the Chinese Communist Party's state tabloid, the Global Times, suggested the country detain and punish U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for visiting Taiwan.
China's government warned Tuesday it would take "forceful measures" if Pelosi visited Taiwan after the Financial Times reported she would travel to the Chinese-claimed island nation next month.
Pelosi and her delegation will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore and spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific command, the London paper added, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hu Xijin suggested an aggressive and militaristic response to the speaker's plan to visit the island country, saying that a war aircraft should enter Taiwan in retaliation.
"My suggestion to Chinese [government and] military: If Pelosi visits Taiwan, PLA military aircraft will accompany Pelosi’s plane to enter the island, making a historic crossing of the island by military aircraft from mainland for the 1st time," Hu wrote on Twitter. "Its significance would overwhelm Pelosi’s visit."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Hu took exception to the Biden administration's statements claiming to have no concrete details or information about the planned trip.
"Biden is supposed to have the ability to prevent the reckless visit of Pelosi, rather than 'I don’t know what the status of it is.' If the US can't restrain her, let China restrain her & punish her. PLA Air Force will surely make her visit a disgrace to herself and to the US."
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, is an island nation off the coast of Asia's mainland. Taiwan has declared itself independent of the People's Republic of China and has claimed continuation of governance from pre-revolutionary China.
The People's Republic of China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, the relatively narrow strip of ocean between the island of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. The Chinese military has frequently sent planes into the area, testing Taiwan's air defense zone.
The United States doesn't have official relations with Taiwan but has been stepping up engagement with the island as China seeks to isolate it from global institutions.
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Hu, who retired from the Global Times last year, has continued to write and speak for the CCP online and at national events. The former editor rose to prominence with aggressive, mocking and intentionally provocative comments on social media.
However, a series of scandals and serious accusations has damaged his reputation domestically and abroad.
Hu was accused by a former deputy editor, Maggie Duan Jingtao, of fathering children with multiple colleagues at the Global Times. He has denied the accusations, accusing Jingtao of blackmailing him for his position at the newspaper.
Hu claimed that Duan apologized to him the next day and recanted her accusations. He went on to say she had "seemed to have been possessed and had uttered garbage."
The CCP ally has also been accused of fathering a son of Canadian nationality, a separate accusation he completely denies.
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang addresses an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of former U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to China in Yorba Linda, Calif., Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Chinese ambassador to the United States has named Taiwan as the "most sensitive" issue at the core of relations between the two superpowers.
"The question of Taiwan is the most sensitive, important core issue in China-U.S. relations," Ambassador Qin Gang said at the Aspen Security Forum. "China loves the peace people on both sides of Taiwan Strait. Our compatriots.
"The last thing we wish to do is to fight with our compatriots, so we will try our best in our great sincerity to achieve the peaceful reunification because we believe that it's best to serve the interests of people on both sides."
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The Aspen Security Forum fireside chat focused on the elevated tensions over the past two years between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, particularly with an increase in high-level U.S. visits to Taipei and more Chinese military flights and exercises around Taiwan’s space.
Fox News' Peter Aiken and Reuters contributed to this report.
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