"However, as speaker of the US house of representatives, Pelosi is the third-most senior US politician after the president and vice-president. In China’s eyes, her visit calls into question her country’s commitment to the “One China” policy. The crucial question is whether Taiwan’s security is better or worse after the visit. The answer from every Taiwan analyst I have worked with over the years is that it is worse.

Pelosi’s visit gave Beijing a plausible pretext to conduct its first large-scale military exercise to effectively blockade the island. "