Civic groups, politicians, and business and industry representatives on the island of Taiwan on Tuesday protested against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit. Photo: Fan Lingzhi/Global Times

Civic groups, politicians, and business and industry representatives on the island of Taiwan on Tuesday protested against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential visit, amid drastically escalating military tension across the Taiwan Straits after US- and Taiwan-based media on Monday disclosed that the 82-year-old No.3 US official is expected to visit the island on Tuesday night. 

The Taipei-based Chinese Patriotic Concentric Association took to the street at a site near the Grand Hyatt hotel in the Xinyi district, where Pelosi is reportedly to stay. The crowd ranged from a few hundred to about 1,000 people from various civic groups.

Gu Xijun, the vice president of the above group, told the Global Times that the protests and boycotts "will accompany Pelosi wherever she appears in Taiwan." 

Zhang Xiuye, another Taiwan resident who has participated in the rally, told the Global Times that US politicians constantly create cross-Straits tensions and use Taiwan as their ATM.

"If we don't warn the Yanks in Taiwan, then we will be like Tsai Ing-wen who is acquiescing to the Yanks," she said. "Both sides of the Taiwan Straits are one family, and we can sit down and talk without the Yanks interfering. We sincerely hope for early reunification."

Wu Cherng-dean, chairman of the pro-reunification New Party, said on Tuesday that the party is firmly opposed to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, saying that Pelosi is "harmful to Taiwan without bringing any benefits." 

Wu said that Pelosi's visit would push Taiwan into a fire and turn the island into a battlefield.

Taiwan-based media reported that several groups will hold protest rallies at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Songshan Airport and the Grand Hyatt Hotel during Pelosi's visit.

A number of Taiwan civic groups gathered in front of the AIT as early as Monday afternoon, with hundreds of people holding placards with slogans such as "American witch get out of Taiwan, China," and "get out, trouble maker Nancy Pelosi!" after US and Taiwan-based media disclosed that Pelosi is expected to land in Taipei on Tuesday evening and stay in Taipei overnight.

Taiwan's stock market plunged 250 points in early trading on Tuesday morning, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) down more than 2 percent. Taiwan-based media said investors' confidence in Taiwan stocks was dented by the rising geopolitical tensions caused by Pelosi's possible visit. 

Lin Por-fong, director of Taiwan's "The Third Wednesday Club," a Taipei-based business group with about 80 company members, said that Taiwan should "bravely refuse Pelosi's visit" to avoid being involved in disputes, including a war, local media udn.com reported on Tuesday. 

"Peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and in the Asia-Pacific region form the cornerstone of Taiwan's economic development," said Hsu Shu-po, chairman of Taiwan's "Chamber of Commerce," in a statement on Tuesday. He said there's no tangible benefit to Taiwan from this visit.

Chiu Yi, a Taiwan-based cross-Straits expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that rational Taiwan residents know the seriousness of the situation and will be deeply disturbed. 

"Pelosi talks about supporting Taiwan but is actually a disaster maker. Her visit may create the most serious cross-Straits crisis in decades," said Chiu, who has urged Tsai to publicly announce that Pelosi is not welcomed by the island. 

Chiu said that because DPP member and former Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien was mired in thesis plagiarism allegations, the DPP is facing a disadvantage in the upcoming local election. Therefore, Tsai is keen to use Pelosi's visit to stir up "anti-China populism," the way she did during the social unrest in Hong Kong in 2019. 

"The DPP may gain at the ballot box, but its gains are not solid, as in the event of a military conflict, its incremental gains will turn negative," Chang Ya-chung, the president of the Sun Yat-sen School in Taiwan and a member of Taiwan's major opposition party KMT, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Taiwan-based media China Times said on Tuesday that the DPP authorities considered cancelling the visit, but Pelosi insisted.

"It once again proved that Taiwan is just a pawn of the US and has no right to agree or disagree," Chang said. 

The island has also become a chessboard, on which confrontation and conflict between Chinese mainland and the US occurs, Chang said, noting that however, it is Taiwan that will have to bear the consequences.

According to China Times, former head of the KMT Hung Hsiu-chu said on Tuesday that it's now the seventh month of the lunar calendar, when many ghosts and monsters may appear in traditional tales. "God bless, it is better not to have anything happen."

Hung mocked that after Pelosi's arrival, the DPP authorities can receive her with a "taste of home" with high standards, including ractopamine-enhanced pork imported from the US.