'Who cares?', Nancy Pelosi laughs at China's decision to sanction her and her family

Just days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China conducted a series of military drills around the island, which it claims as its own. Speaking about the Chinese retaliatory drills on Wednesday, Pelosi said the US could not permit China to normalise the new level of pressure on Taiwan that it asserted with days of military drills. 

As per a Reuters report, speaking at a press conference alongside other four Democratic House members who accompanied her on the Asia visit, Pelosi said: "What we saw with China is that they were trying to establish sort of a new normal. And we just can't let that happen".

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Incensed at Pelosi's visit to Taipei last week, China had extended its largest-ever exercises around the self-ruled island it claims as its own, beyond the four days that were originally scheduled. 

Pelosi, who has been a vocal critic of China for decades, said, "We went there to praise Taiwan. We went there to show our friendship, to say China cannot isolate Taiwan".

Also read | China's 'whitepaper' on Taiwan: 'Reunification' and 'respond with the use of force'

When questioned about China's warning that she and her family would be subject to sanctions, she laughed and said "Who cares?"

"That is incidental to me, of no relevance whatsoever," she added.

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Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi told the press that the delegation talked about a backlog of upcoming military shipments to Taiwan. Both he and Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that lawmakers were taking steps to move these deals along more rapidly.

Krishnamoorthi said: "We intend to fulfill all of our obligations to all of our partners and others who are counting on us for these vital supplies." Meeks added that his committee was drafting a legislation that would help expedite defence equipment agreements.

(With inputs from agencies)

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