The Vice President of Taiwan stops in New York before visiting Paraguay… and China condemns it
Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai arrived in New York this morning, kicking off a fly-by in the United States that China has denounced and Taiwanese officials fear could lead to more Chinese military activity around the democratically-ruled island.
The China Airlines plane, which carried Lai from Taipei, landed at JFK shortly after 8:15 p.m. local time (0015 GMT).
Lai, the leading candidate for Taiwan’s president in the January election, is making his first official stopover in the United States, twice on the way back from Paraguay, where he will attend the inauguration ceremony of its new president.
Lai is expected to return from Paraguay to Taiwan via San Francisco on Friday, according to the official schedule of the visit published on Saturday, which did not mention a visit to the United States.
Neither Taipei nor Washington provided any precise details about Lai’s schedule in the United States, and both aim to keep that part under wraps, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Taipei and Washington say such visits are routine and there is no reason for China to take “provocative” measures, but Beijing has reacted angrily to what it sees as another sign of US support for Taiwan, which it considers Chinese territory.
China’s foreign ministry on Sunday denounced Taiwan’s vice president’s visit to the United States, calling him a separatist and “troublemaker all the time”.
The ministry said, in a statement shortly after Lai’s arrival in New York, that China is closely following the situation and will take “resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan officials say China will use Lai’s stop in the US as a pretext to start military exercises, likely next week, near Taiwan to intimidate voters ahead of next year’s elections into “war-fearing”.
Lai did not mention his visit to the United States except briefly, as he only told reporters that he was going to New York first.
He said he would not only use Paraguay’s visit to strengthen relations with that country, but also to hold talks with other countries and meet delegations of like-minded partners. He did not disclose these partners.
This, he added, “will let the international community understand that Taiwan is a country committed to democracy, freedom and human rights and actively participating in international affairs.”
He stated that this would also let the world know “our various efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
(Reuters)
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2023-08-13 02:45:54
