Pelosi Puts Xi and Biden in a Bind on Taiwan

When a plane carrying a very senior US politician touches down in Taiwan as soon as tonight, a key question will remain — why now?

Nancy Pelosi has been House Speaker (second in the line of succession to the presidency) across two stints starting in 2007, and in Congress for 35 years. So why pick this moment to visit the democratically ruled island that China claims as its territory and has threatened to take by force?