President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will make two stopovers in the US during his upcoming visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in South America and the Caribbean next week, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
The state visit will be Ma’s first since he took office in May.
‘REPAIRING’ TRUST
Ma will make low-profile US stopovers and will not be meeting Taiwanese expatriates, US officials, lawmakers or academics, Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources said.
Ma’s low-key stops are aimed at “repairing” relations between the two sides, which critics said were strained by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Chen, who favored promoting Taiwanese identity and asserting Taiwan’s de facto sovereignty while he was in power from 2000 until May, was accused of using transit stopovers in the US to strengthen his political support at home.
Ma has vowed not to follow his predecessor’s example by seeking to capitalize on state visits for political purposes.
INAUGURATIONS
The president will lead a delegation to attend presidential inaugurations in Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, two of the 23 countries that recognize Taiwan diplomatically, the sources said.
Ma will depart Taipei on Tuesday on a China Airlines flight and make an overnight transit in Los Angeles, the sources said.
On Wednesday, he will take a charter flight from Los Angeles to Paraguay, with a stopover in Panama for refueling, the sources said.
During his brief stay in Panama, Ma will meet Panamanian President Martin Torrijos to exchange views on bilateral relations, the sources said.
PARAGUAY
On Aug. 15, Ma will attend Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo’s inauguration ceremony and head to the Dominican Republic later that day, the sources said.
On Aug. 16, Ma will attend the inauguration of Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, who was re-elected to a third term, the sources said.
Ma is expected to board a charter flight to San Francisco the next day, the sources said, adding that his plane would stop in Austin, Texas, for refueling.
He will take a brief rest at a San Francisco hotel before flying home on another China Airlines flight, the sources said.
Ma is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Aug. 19.
CHINA OR BUST
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) told a press conference yesterday that Ma should cancel his trip to Latin American countries next week so that he can attend to “serious domestic problems such as inflation, typhoons, gasoline price hikes, unemployment and a slump in the stock market.”
If Ma really wants to go abroad, he should go to Beijing to cheer for the Taiwanese athletes at the Olympic Games, Lee said.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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