Pelosi and Tsai vow to defend democracy in historic meeting

TAIPEI — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Wednesday, as part of a visit that has prompted China to undertake military drills around the democratic island.

Beijing has responded angrily to the trip — the highest-level visit by a U.S. official in 25 years. The Chinese government announced Wednesday morning it would ban imports of Taiwanese citrus fruit and two types of fish, and stop exporting natural sand to Taiwan. These moves follow the prohibition of thousands of food imports — a move revealed before Pelosi’s arrival on Tuesday.