Pelosi departs Taiwan, capping visit that infuriated China

The plane carrying U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi takes off from Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan on Wednesday after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.

Pelosi, whose delegation made an unannounced but closely watched stop in Taiwan late on Tuesday after visits to Singapore and Malaysia, was scheduled to continue her Asian tour with stops in South Korea and Japan.

Her plane took off from an airport in the capital Taipei at around 6 p.m.(1000 GMT) local time.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS

(Reporting by Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Andrew Heavens)