As tensions between the United States and China remain tense over Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi‘s planned visit to Taiwan this week, video circulated across social media showing a pro-China message displayed on a Moscow TV tower.
Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan on Tuesday as part of a congressional delegation trip to Asia, Reuters reported. Speculation about the potential visit to Taiwan has drawn a strong response from China, which has long disputed Taiwanese independence. China, in recent days, has made several threats over Pelosi’s visit.
Video posted to social media appearing to show the text “China, Russia is with you” displayed on Moscow’s Ostankino TV tower had received more than 350,000 views Monday afternoon. Many believed the video depicted a Russian sign of solidarity with China, which has been perhaps Moscow’s most powerful ally amid its invasion of Ukraine.
However, the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS) said the video was fake, TASS reported.
“A message published by a number of media about the inscription ‘China, Russia is with you!’ on the media facade of the Ostankino TV Tower is a fake. Such an inscription was not broadcast and, in addition, could not be broadcast for technical reasons – at the moment the upper media facade is turned off for scheduled repairs,” RTRS, the Russian press service, said.
Instead, a video to commemorate International Tiger Day, a day celebrated to raise awareness about tiger conservation, was broadcasted onto the tower, according to TASS.
Some on social media may have found the video credible because China and Russia have enjoyed close ties in the months following the start of the Ukraine invasion, even as Moscow finds itself a pariah among large swaths of the world. Many world leaders have condemned the war, but China has sided with Russia on several global affairs issues.
China Threatens Pelosi Over Taiwan Trip
The social media video of the TV tower came as China continues making threats over Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China has claimed as its own. Her historic trip is set to take place on Tuesday and is the first from a U.S. House speaker since Newt Gingrich‘s 1997 visit.
The threats, which began last month, continued into Monday, when China’s foreign ministry said the nation will “take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. As for what measures exactly we will take, let’s wait and see if she dares” to make the visit.
Zhao Lijian, the foreign ministry spokesman, added that Pelosi’s trip would have “serious consequences,” and Taiwan has reportedly mobilized its air defense forces in preparation for her visit, Taiwanese news station SET reported.
Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
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