Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appeared to misspeak during an NBC interview on Monday.
Fresh off of a politically charged visit to Taiwan, the Democrat referred to China as “one of the freest societies in the world.”
“Don’t take it from me, that’s from Freedom House,” Pelosi said.
Nancy Pelosi: “China is one of the freest societies in the world”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 9, 2022
Freedom House does not list China as one of the freest countries in the world. Instead, it lists China with a pitiful score of nine out of 100.
Human rights abuses are rife in mainland China, with religious freedom sharply curtailed, according to Freedom House.
Taiwan merits a Freedom House score of 94, putting the largely unrecognized nation on par with developed countries such as Germany and Iceland.
It’s all but certain the Speaker was referring to Taiwan, rather than China, but Pelosi was criticized for the embarrassing misstatement nonetheless.
Is Pelosi out of her league?
Pelosi thinks that the Communist Dictatorship in China is “one of the freest societies in the world,” which may explain why the Democrats are now emulating the same authoritarian tactics here at home, that the Chinese Communist Party uses against their political opposition! https://t.co/x30ebv5eaf
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 9, 2022
Pelosi’s visit to the island nation spurred tensions between the United States and China. The latter has always viewed Taiwan as a territory of China.
Taiwan draws its political heritage from the pre-Communist Chinese government, which was expelled from power in the late 1940s.
The United States does not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent country, even though it supports the democratic nation with arms sales.
The Communist Chinese government criticized Pelosi for the Taiwan visit, describing the act as a breach of the “one China policy” traditionally recognized by the United States.
President Joe Biden said he was “not worried”, but “concerned” about China’s response to Pelosi’s trip.
China launched military exercises close to Taiwanese territory in response to Pelosi’s visit.
#China fired missiles into the waters near #Taiwan earlier today. The provocation is threatening our security, escalating tensions in the region, & interrupting international transportation & trade. (1/2)
— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) ?? (@MOFA_Taiwan) August 4, 2022
Pelosi has yet to clarify her apparent gaffe as of Tuesday morning.
