Top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi leaves Taiwan after meeting its President Tsai Ing-wen, despite warnings from China not to do so
She praised Taiwan as an island of resilience and said the US commitment to democracy there was iron-clad
China says it will hold a series of live-fire military drills in the air and sea around the island from Thursday
Taiwan says the move violates the island's sovereignty and amounts to a blockade
The US speaker's trip, which was not backed by President Biden, was the first by such a senior US official in 25 years
Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan - which lies 100 miles from the Chinese mainland - as a breakaway province that will eventually be under its control
Watch the moment top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan a little earlier. She was greeted by a delegation after walking down the steps from the plane.
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Reporting from Taiwan
Nancy Pelosi's plane touched down at Taipei's Songshan airport at 22:44 local time.
Shortly afterwards, the top Democrat and her delegation could be seen coming down the steps of the US government plane and being greeted by local Taiwanese officials.
Pelosi is now expected to travel by motorcade to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei where she will stay the night.
There is a small protest being held outside the hotel by a pro-China group opposed to her visit. Some held up banners reading "go home warmonger".
Pelosi is the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan since then House Speaker Newt Gingrich came to Taiwan in 1997.
Taiwan media is reporting that Pelosi will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Yingwen tomorrow morning, before going to Taiwan’s parliament, and then to a human rights museum in the afternoon.
Nancy Pelosi has just tweeted after touching down in Taiwan.
In a thread, the top US Democrat says that her delegation's visit honoured America’s "unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant Democracy".
She adds: "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever" and that her visit "in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy."
"The United States continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo," she says, linking to a full statement, external.
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Image source, ReutersOn China’s heavily moderated social media platforms, comments mostly vehemently opposed Pelosi’s visit and encouraged military action.
Many social media users called for China to "take back" Taiwan while expressing anticipation of their country's "victory".
Only a few posts urged calm.
"We don’t want war. Those who love war don’t get too excited; all soldiers have families," one said.
But such posts were heavily criticised by other commenters.
Chinese censors have been quick to delete social media posts that go against the official position, so it is impossible to know how representative the comments online are.
And we have just seen Pelosi leaving the plane at the airport in Taiwan.
She is seen descending the steps of the aircraft and being met by a small delegation.
A plane believed to be carrying Nancy Pelosi has landed in Taiwan.
She would be the most senior US politician to visit the island in 25 years.
Image source, ReutersThe US government plane is thought to be carrying Nancy Pelosi.
Chinese jets are crossing the Taiwan strait, according to reports in the country's state media.
They are reportedly Su-35 fighter jets.
Beijing warned it would respond to any potential visit from Nancy Pelosi.
We'll bring you more as we get it.
Kolas Yotaka, a former spokesperson for Taiwan's presidential office and now a politician for the ruling DPP party, told the BBC she was keen to see Pelosi visit.
Yotaka said Pelosi should not feel "threatened or pressured" by anyone, and neither should the Taiwanese.
"So, I think Taiwanese are looking forward to her visit including me."
She continued:
Quote MessageHer potential visit makes us feel less isolated. It would give people hope to see that even in difficult circumstances, there are still people who maintain their beliefs and ideals. I think it's very important for Taiwanese not to feel alone so that we can keep going.
Quote MessageChina's reaction are ridiculous, but normal, predictable and not new to us. We have been threatened for decades so, actually I think the whole world should stop trying to not to anger China. I think people should be less afraid, be more brave."
Joshua Cheetham
Open Source Analyst, BBC News
There's been lots of speculation about whether Pelosi will be making her way to Taiwan this week.
Now we have one more clue.
Until recently, she's been touring Asia in a US air force plane with the callsign SPAR19.
The plane departed Malaysia's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport earlier today but at the time, no destination was visible on flight-tracking websites.
This has changed in the last hour, and while we can't say for sure whether Pelosi is onboard, we do know one thing: the plane is heading for Songshan Airport in Taiwan's capital, Taipei.
The flight's been tracked by thousands of people on FlightRadar24, causing the site to crash several times.
Image source, ReutersDemonstrators step on a US flag during a protest against Nancy Pelosi's visit, in Taipei.
Not everyone in Taiwan is happy at Pelosi's expected trip.
Demonstrators staged a small protest in the capital Taipei, brandishing placards labelling the US Speaker a "trouble maker" or an "ugly American", and criticising the Taiwanese president as a "traitor".
Some held banners for Taiwan's New Party - a small political group which supports unification with China but has no seats in the Legislative Yuan.
Taipei 101 – the tallest building on the island – has been lit up with a welcome message for the top US official.
It reads "Speaker Pelosi; welcome to TW" alongside the short but simple "TW <3 US".
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Image source, ReutersThe Chinese government has repeatedly expressed its opposition to Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
Last week President Xi told President Biden that "whoever plays with fire will get burnt".
On Monday foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned of "serious consequences" of the leading US Democrat's visit and said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would not "sit idly by".
Meanwhile the PLA's eastern command, which covers the part of the mainland nearest Taiwan, released a video on social media saying it was "fully prepared for any eventuality".
The Chinese military marked 95 years since its founding on Monday.
On Tuesday an editorial in the state-run Global Times newspaper said the PLA had not fought a war for nearly 40 years but had improved its combat capability over the past decade.
The visit "proves once again that China needs to build a strong people's army more than ever in history”, it said.
Image source, EPAWe've heard lots about Nancy Pelosi's imminent visit to Taiwan, but you may well be wondering who she actually is.
Pelosi, 82, is a US Democratic politician who's served as speaker of the House of Representatives since 2019, and previously from 2007 to 2011 - the only woman to have held the role.
The speaker's job is to make sure the House passes legislation supported by the majority party - currently the Democrats - as well as determine what bills reach the floor and when.
Before her election, Pelosi chaired the California Democratic Party from 1981 until 1983. She's now in her 18th Congress term.
Pelosi - who is known for speaking out on issues she is passionate about - was a major opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During her current speakership, the House twice impeached former US president Donald Trump, first in December 2019 and again in January 2021. Trump was acquitted both times by the Senate.
In 2020, footage went viral of Pelosi ripping up a copy of Trump's State of the Union speech - while she stood behind him.
State of the Union: Pelosi rips up copy of Trump's speech
Image source, ReutersThe visit to Taiwan has created a diplomatic headache for the White House in Washington.
Last week, US President Joe Biden told reporters the US Department of Defense believed it would not be wise.
"The military thinks it's not a good idea right now," he said on Wednesday.
"But I don’t know what the status of it is," he quickly added.
On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Mrs Pelosi "has the right to visit Taiwan" and "makes her own decisions", adding that the White House respects the US Congress's independence.
As Speaker of that House, Mrs Pelosi is second in line for the presidency after the vice-president.
Image source, Getty ImagesIn her long life as a US politician, Nancy Pelosi has been a vocal critic of the Chinese leadership, denouncing its human rights record.
In 1991, two years after large-scale protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were crushed by the Chinese government, she visited the square and displayed a banner honouring the demonstrators.
"To those who died for democracy in China," the hand-painted banner read.
The police closed in quickly, roughing up reporters who were covering the event and chasing the lawmakers out of the square.
For its part, the Chinese government has made no secret of its disdain for Mrs Pelosi, once labelling her "full of lies and disinformation".
She has also tried to pass letters of protest to previous Chinese leaders, including calling for the release of Tibetan and Chinese activists from prison.
"For heads of state to go to China in light of a genocide that is ongoing - while you're sitting there in your seat - really begs the question, what moral authority do you have to speak again about human rights any place in the world?" she said, referring to China’s crackdown on the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang, as China prepared to host the 2022 Winter Olympics earlier this year.
Taiwan's government and presidential websites were knocked offline on Tuesday ahead of Pelosi's expected visit.
Outages like that can be caused by a surge in visitors - but also by a deliberate cyber-attack designed to take down the sites.
And at least in the case of the presidential website, a cyber-attack was to blame, Taiwanese officials told Reuters - without saying who was behind it.
In the past, Taiwan has said it deals with millions of attempts to find weaknesses every day, and hundreds are reported to succeed each year. China is often accused of being behind them.
Image source, AFPLet's step back a bit now, and look at some of key points about Taiwan and its relations with China.
You can read more about China Taiwan relations here.
Image source, .China has sent warplanes right up to the median line dividing the Chinese mainland from Taiwan in the hours before Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is expected to arrive for her visit to the self-ruled island.
On Tuesday, China's foreign ministry said it had been in communication with the US regarding the visit, expressing hopes Washington could be clear on the gravity and sensitivity of this matter.
"We are also closely following the itinerary of Speaker Pelosi and if the US continues down the wrong path, we will take strong and resolute measures to ensure our sovereignty and security interests," a ministry spokeswoman said.
Taiwan's defence ministry said it had a full grasp of military activities near the island and was determined to defend itself against any Chinese threats.
This is not the first time Chinese military planes have flown close to the median line, having crossed it in the past. Beijing also frequently sends planes into Taiwan's self-declared Air Defence Identification Zone.
Hello and welcome, as we start our live coverage ahead of the expected visit by top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Pelosi's controversial trip, which US President Joe Biden is distancing himself from, has prompted a spike in nationalist rhetoric from China, with Beijing warning its armed forces "will not sit idly by".
There are said to be concerns in the White House that China could respond with military provocation such as firing missiles.
Four Chinese aircraft have already been tracked by Taiwan in its air defence zone.
Pelosi is expected to visit the island’s legislative council on Wednesday and meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen.