His party were visiting Asia left Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, at 15:42 local time. Seven hours after the flight, SPAR19 arrived in Taipei at 22:44 local time. At one point, more than 300,000 people followed the SPAR19 flight, according to flight-tracking phone database website Flight Radar 24. Flights from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei usually fly over the South China Sea, and the flight time is generally less than five hours. Since last week, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has carried out live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea and other waters. Responses of Taiwanese and Chinese people
Taipei protest Photo Credit: Reuters / BBC News Protests in Taipei. Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has sparked mixed reactions in Taiwan. On Tuesday (August 2), protesters in Taipei marched near the Grand Hyatt hotel where Pelosi may be staying to protest her planned visit. They accused the visit of potentially triggering clashes across the Taiwan Strait. But some supporters held up posters saying "Taiwan welcomes Pelosi" to welcome her visit. Taipei's iconic building, Taipei 101, was also lit up to support US-Taiwan friendship. On China's tightly controlled social media platform, comments were mostly
strongly opposed to Pelosi's visit and encouraged Beijing to take military action. Many social media users called on China to "take back" Taiwan, while expressing expectations for a "victory" for the motherland. Only a few posts urged calm. "We don't want war. People who like war don't get too excited; all soldiers have families," said one netizen. But such posts are often heavily criticized by other commenters. Chinese censors quickly delete social media posts that contradict official positions, making it impossible to know how representative online comments are.