Update: 04/08 9:45 a.m.
On Thursday (April 7), Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill announced on Twitter that the House Speaker had tested positive for COVID and therefore that her planned trip to Asia would be "postponed to a later date." Hammill stated that Pelosi is asymptomatic and has been "fully vaccinated and boosted."
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese and Japanese media outlets are reporting that U.S. House Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan on Sunday (April 10).
Fuji News Network (FNN) on Thursday (April 7) cited sources familiar with the matter as stating that Pelosi will lead a delegation on a visit to Japan on Friday (April 8) to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Sunday (April 10), when the two will discuss coordinating their nations' response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to FNN, Pelosi will then travel to Taiwan, as she is concerned about a "change of the status quo by force" by China amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Pelosi reportedly originally planned to visit South Korea after Japan, but the trip was canceled in favor of Taiwan. This would mark the first time a House speaker has visited Taiwan since Newt Gingrich's meeting with former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in Taipei in 1997.
Also on Thursday, UDN reported that Pelosi's delegation is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on Sunday. Pelosi's visit coincides with the 43rd anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
Pelosi and other delegation participants are keeping a low profile regarding the trip to Asia and have not yet made any public announcements about a visit to Taiwan. Pelosi is expected to be accompanied by Gregory W. Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Meeks previously expressed his interest in visiting Taiwan last year. In December, he announced a plan to lead a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in January as part of a trip to Asia, but the visit was canceled due to the pandemic and scheduling issues.
Pelosi's office has yet to respond to a request for comment. The standard practice by U.S. delegations in recent years has been to avoid public announcements of visits to Taiwan until the day of their arrival in order to lessen diplomatic protests or obstruction from Beijing.
