Photos: Nancy Pelosi's history standing up to China
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday, August 3. Pelosi said her visit -- the first by a sitting US speaker in 25 years -- was intended to make it "unequivocally clear" that the United States would "not abandon" the democratically governed island.
Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

In pictures: Nancy Pelosi's history standing up to China

Updated 1529 GMT (2329 HKT) August 3, 2022

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrive for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday, August 3. Pelosi said her visit -- the first by a sitting US speaker in 25 years -- was intended to make it "unequivocally clear" that the United States would "not abandon" the democratically governed island.
Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday, a stop on her tour through Asia and a significant show of diplomatic support for Taiwan despite China's threats of retaliation.

Taiwan has emerged as a serious point of conflict between the US and China, as US officials fear a more imminent Chinese move on the self-governing island. The visit prompted warnings from China as well as the Biden administration, which has briefed the speaker about the risks of visiting the democratic, self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.

Throughout her career in Congress, Pelosi has a long history of representing the US to Chinese officials, including standing up to Beijing as well as presidents from her own party.

Pelosi, speaking at the US Capitol in June 1991, holds a watch that was reportedly smuggled out of China. She said the watches were given to soldiers who helped crush the Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989.
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In this image taken from video, Pelosi and fellow US Reps. Ben Jones, left, and John Miller unfold a banner during a trip to Beijing in September 1991. The banner says, "To those who died for democracy in China."
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Pelosi, during a Capitol Hill news conference in May 1996, describes sections of a bill that would sanction China for violating US copyrights. Pelosi wanted President Bill Clinton to pressure China to live up to its agreement to protect US software.
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Pelosi arrives in Shanghai, China, for a meeting with Liu Yungeng, chairman of Shanghai's Municipal People's Congress, in May 2009.
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Pelosi introduces her delegates to Chinese President Hu Jintao during their meeting in Beijing in May 2009. Pelosi was leading a congressional delegation on a working visit devoted to energy and climate change.
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Pelosi chats with Li Zhaoxing, former Chinese foreign minister, at a clean energy forum in Beijing in May 2009. In a speech, Pelosi called for closer cooperation in fighting global warming.
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Li, right, shows Pelosi the way after she arrived at a joint session involving committees from China and the United States in May 2009.
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Pelosi attends the joint session between committees in May 2009.
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Pelosi delivers a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing during her trip in May 2009.
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Pelosi speaks on Capitol Hill during a June 2009 event marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
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In June 2009, Pelosi speaks during a news conference with Yu Zhijian, Yu Dongyue and Lu Decheng -- three men who were imprisoned for defacing a portrait of Mao Zedong during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The men were reunited for the first time since their release from prison.
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Pelosi shakes hands with Zhang Ping, vice vhairman of China's National People's Congress, as she arrives for a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2015. At right is Fu Ying, head of the NPC's foreign affairs committee.
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Pelosi and Zhang speak during their bilateral meeting in November 2015.
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Pelosi chats with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a meeting in Beijing in November 2015.
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Pelosi and Chinese dissident Yang Jianli unveil the "Tank Man" statue during a 2019 rally in Washington, DC, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.
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Pelosi signs the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in 2020. The bill would impose sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the mass surveillance and detention of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the western Xinjiang region.
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Pelosi testifies in Washington, DC, before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in February 2022. The CECC held a hearing on "The Beijing Olympics and the Faces of Repression."
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