US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is slated to lead a delegation to travel to Asia tomorrow which includes Taipei as one of the stops.
The visit will be the first time in decades that Taiwan has received such a high-level US congressional leader.
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), however, has added uncertainty to the delegation's visit, sources said.
"Right now, everything is still on schedule," said an assistant to Senator Susan Collins, a member of the delegation, by phone on Tuesday afternoon in Washington.
"They are undecided about China," the source added.
The delegation, which includes Frist and seven other senators along with their families and staffers, is scheduled to take a US Air Force jet to Beijing and Shanghai today, before visiting South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, sources in Taipei and Washington said.
The delegation is scheduled to reach Taipei on April 18 for a whirlwind 24-hour visit.
The senators are slated to meet with high-ranking officials including President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), government sources said.
The trip, if completed, will mark the first time since 1985 a US Senate majority leader has visited Taiwan.
Then Senate majority leader Bob Dole visited Taipei in 1985 after the veteran Republican figure was elected to his post in the Senate in November of the previous year.
Officials said Frist's planned visit to Taipei should mark a significant milestone in Taipei-Washington relations.
"Despite the longstanding friendship between Taiwan and the US Congress, it's rare for us to see the visit of such a high-level US congressional leader in Taipei," said a Presidential Office official who declined to be named.
"The visit symbolizes the US emphasis on its relations with Taiwan, especially at a time when the US itself is busy with the war against Iraq, not to mention the threat from SARS," the official said.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which government officials said is in charge of arranging the delegation's itinerary in Taipei, did not deny nor confirm the delegation's visit yesterday.
Judith Mudd-Krijgelmans, spokesperson for AIT's Taipei office, said she could not confirm the scheduled visit to Taipei by the US congressional delegation.
A former heart and lung transplant specialist, Frist is the only physician currently serving in the US Congress.
The Harvard-educated physician joined the Senate eight years ago, representing Tennessee.
He was recently elected to replace Trent Lott, who stepped down as majority leader last December after making some comments that were taken as supporting racism.
Other key senators in the delegation include Susan Collins of Maine, who serves as the chairperson of the Senate's Government Affairs Committee and Don Nickles, who is the chairman of the Senate's Budget Committee.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim