In one of her first interviews following her trip to Taiwan, which attracted global attention, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a remarkable slip of the tongue by referring to China as "one of the freest societies in the world" on Tuesday.
In an interview with NBC's "Today," Pelosi claimed she supported the "one China" policy, but she also reportedly made an embarrassing error that has amused many people online.
"We still support the 'one China' policy, we go there to acknowledge the status quo is what our policy is, there is nothing disruptive about that. It was only about saying, China is one of the freest societies in the world, don't take it from me, that's from Freedom House, it's a strong democracy, courageous people," said Pelosi.
Obviously, it was not what she had intended to say. However, the cat is out of the bag.
The dramatic shift in sentiment is particularly striking given that the California Democrat earlier in the day lambasted Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "scared bully."
Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, took to social media shortly after she made the gaffe to clarify the situation and present her original position. Apparently, she was speaking of Freedom House's "Freedom in the World" report from 2021, which gave Taiwan a "global freedom score" of 94 out of 100. In contrast, the DC-based NGO's website has categorized China and its communist leadership as an "authoritarian regime."
"The Speaker is referencing Taiwan. The Speaker’s record of speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party for 35 years in the Congress is unsurpassed," Hammill said.
And while Pelosi herself has said she has no regrets about the trip, China's Foreign Ministry has announced sanctions against the speaker and her immediate family for visiting Taiwan.