U.S. House Speaker Pelosi arrives in Taiwan despite China warnings

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Chinese-claimed Taiwan aboard a U.S. military aircraft late on Tuesday, the first such visit in 25 years and one that risks pushing relations between Washington and Beijing to a new low.
 

Pelosi and her delegation were greeted by Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu and Sandra Oudkirk, the top U.S. representative in Taiwan.

Her visit prompted protests at the hotel she is believed to be staying at in Taipei.

A crowd that gathered outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel, held placards that read: “I am Taiwanese. I stand for Taiwan’s independence.”

A separate group of anti-U.S. protesters also demonstrated outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel, stomping on a U.S. flag and chanted "Pelosi get-out'.
 

Pelosi was on a tour of Asia that includes announced visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Her stop in Taiwan had not been announced but had been widely anticipated.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own, and a foreign ministry spokesman said earlier this week that any visit by Pelosi would be "a gross interference in China's internal affairs" and warned that "the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never sit idly by."