President William Lai (賴清德) is planning to stop over in Hawaii and maybe Guam on a visit to Taipei’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific in the coming weeks, six sources told Reuters.
Lai, who won election in January, has yet to travel overseas since taking office in May.
Six sources briefed on the visit, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said that Lai is planning a stopover in Hawaii as part of an overseas trip starting in the coming weeks.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
A stopover in the US territory of Guam was also being discussed, four of the sources said.
Both Hawaii and Guam are home to major US military bases.
Two of the sources said that the stopovers would be part of Lai’s visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific.
The Pacific countries of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are three of the 12 remaining states that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Reuters was unable to determine precisely which countries Lai would visit and when.
The Presidential Office said Lai “at present has no overseas trips planned,” but if he does, the government would announce it at an appropriate time.
“We refer you to the Taiwan authorities for the travel plans of high-level Taiwan officials. We have nothing further on this,” a US Department of State spokesperson said.
The offices of the presidents of Palau and the Marshall Islands and the Tuvalu government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s presidents typically make use of what are officially only stopovers in the US to meet friendly US politicians and give speeches.
Such stopovers are typically on visits to far-flung allies in the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean.
One person familiar with the US leg said they expected Lai’s visit to be lower-key than usual and that logistics are still being worked on.
The Pacific island nations visits are also important as China has been gradually whittling away at the number of countries there who have ties with Taiwan.
In January, tiny Nauru switched relations back to Beijing.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS