The PLA drew its red line against Speaker Pelosi’s threatened trip to Taiwan more thickly on July 30 with snap exercises in Fujian province, across the strait from Taiwan. AP cited Xinhua reporting that the PLA was conducting “live-fire exercises” near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Maritime Safety Administration warned ships to avoid the area. Such exercises usually involve artillery. Videos appearing on Telegram and YouTube show what was apparently night time live fire from multiple launch rocket systems.
Hu Xijin, emeritus editor-in-chief of China’s Global Times newspaper, had tweeted on July 29, “Our fighter jets should deploy all obstructive tactics. If those are still ineffective, I think it is okay too to shoot down Pelosi’s plane.” The tweet drew a warning from Twitter, which forced Hu to delete it.
