Former president Lee Teng-hui (
"[He] will urge the international community to pay attention to the threat and impact of China's rising military power on the Taiwan Strait, the Asia-Pacific region, the United States and the world," Lee's office said in a statement.
"On the grounds of defending the universal value of democracy, he will further call on the international community not to sit idly by and leave the ambitions of a dictatorial China to annex democratic Taiwan unchecked," the statement said.
However, the US Department of State has been careful to describe Lee's visit as a "personal trip," in an effort to depoliticize his tour and avoid criticism from China.
Meanwhile, chanting "Down with Taiwan's independence," a small group of pro-unification activists protested at the airport before Lee's departure.
Lee made no comment.
During his two-week visit to meet with "old friends," the 82-year-old Lee will visit four US cities -- Anchorage, New York, Washington and Los Angeles -- where he will meet with senior executives of major Taiwanese associations, as well as US politicians, think tank members and opinion leaders.
An outspoken critic of China's military threat and diplomatic suppression of Taiwan, Lee will take advantage of his visit to draw attention to the possible impact of China's rise on the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the Asia-Pacific region and the entire world, Lee's aides said.
Lee, often described as one of the spiritual leaders of the pro-independence movement, will also urge the international community not to condone China's increasingly evident attempts to annex Taiwan.
Meanwhile, his aides said, Lee will discuss with Taiwanese community leaders how to pool resources at home and abroad to defend Taiwan's national interests.
He will also exchange views with influential US congressional members, think tank researchers and social opinion leaders on the latest developments in the general international situation.
Lee retired in 2000, but Beijing still warns foreign governments against granting him visas, saying that he seizes any opportunity to advocate Taiwan's independence.
Lee will be in Washington from Oct. 17 to 20, during which he is scheduled to deliver a speech at the National Press Club.
During his tenure as president, Lee made a rare visit to the US in June 1995, which sparked a fierce protest from China.
Beijing was so outraged that it staged menacing war games and lobbed missiles into the Taiwan Strait.
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79