🌏 US Speaker Nancy Pelosi Visits Taiwan, Aboriginal Australian Senator Calls Queen Elizabeth "Colonizer" And More

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US house speaker Nancy Pelosi has met with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen after arriving in the country in a historic visit on Tuesday Aug. 2.

The visit makes her the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan in more than 20 years.

The controversial visit comes amid rising cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China, which claims Taiwan as its territory.

Both supporters and protesters concerned about what her visit meant for the safety for the country gathered outside the Grand Hyatt, where she was staying.

Upon landing, Pelosi tweeted that her visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.”

In a Washington Post op-ed published shortly after, she also spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown against human rights in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, saying that “we cannot stand by as the CCP proceeds to threaten Taiwan – and democracy itself.”

After her arrival, the Chinese government announced “military operations” including missile tests and live fire exercises around Taiwan, which were slated to begin on Wednesday night after Pelosi’s departure.

It had already strongly condemned the visit, saying that there would be “serious consequences.”

On Wednesday, Pelosi – the first woman US speaker – officially met with President Tsai Ing-wen – Taiwan’s first woman president – and other Taiwanese cabinet members.

During the press conference, Pelosi called Taiwan “among the freest societies in the world”, stressing that her delegation had traveled to the country “to make unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and we are proud of our enduring friendship,” the New York Times reported.

Tsai, meanwhile, called Pelosi, “Taiwan’s most devoted friend” and presented the speaker with the Order of Propitious Clouds, an award given to Taiwanese people and foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to the country.

During her short visit, Pelosi also met several prominent human rights activists who were once imprisoned in China and visited the National Human Rights Museum in Taipei.

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Lidia Thorpe, an Indigenous Australian member of parliament, called Queen Elizabeth a “colonizer” while being sworn into the Australian parliament as a Senator on Monday Aug. 1.

Footage of the moment showed Thorpe, who is of DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara descent, walking onto the Senate floor with her right first raised above her head.

She is then asked to recite the oath written on a card in front of her.

“I, sovereign Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe, who belongs to the Green party, was then told by the Senate President that she needed to recite the oath as it was written.

After redoing the oath, with her fist still above her head, Thorpe was sworn in as a Senator.

She later tweeted a photo from the ceremony with the caption “Sovereignty never ceded.”

Thorpe, the first Aboriginal senator from the state of Victoria, has been outspoken about the colonization faced by Australia’s Indigenous peoples.

She said that she had ran for parliament “to question the illegitimate occupation of the colonial system in this country,” according to the Guardian.

“I am here for my people, and I will sacrifice swearing allegiance to the colonizer to get into the media like I am right now, to get into the parliament like I am every day,” she said.

More Women You Should Know About

🇸🇦 Tala Safwan, an Egyptian influencer who has nearly 5 million followers on TikTok and more than 800,000 subscribers on YouTube, has been arrested by the Saudi police for what authorities said was sexually suggestive content.

England’s women soccer players were caught trying to read Germany’s tactic note during the 2022 European Women’s Championship final, and fans couldn’t help but turn it into a meme.

Germany and England faced each other for the Euro 2022 final at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday night, with the English team winning its first major women’s championship.

Both teams scored a goal during the first 90 minutes, which brought the game into extra time.

During the 110th minute, Chloe Kelly of England scored a decisive goal bringing the scoreboard 2-1.

Moments after Kelly’s goal, and with not much time left until the end of the match, Germany made a player substitution.

Germany’s Lena Lattwein then came onto the pitch with a tactic note from the team’s manager, which was passed among other German players.

England’s Ella Toone can be seen trying to casually intercept the note. Meanwhile, England’s Alessia Russo was also caught looking at the note over her opponent’s shoulder.

Fans found the sneakiness hilarious and took to Twitter to speculate about the content of the note.

Some thought the note contained a message reading, “It’s coming home”, as a nod to England’s victory.

Another user joked that the paper contained a diagram that gave instructions for scoring a goal.

The final became the most attended European championship match in both the women and men’s categories ever, with over 87,000 people in the crowd.

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