President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday departed for her first overseas trip since taking office on May 20, pledging to find a solution to a dispute that has led to Taiwan’s first air transport disruption caused by workers going on strike.
Before boarding her charter flight, Tsai said that her government is “one that solves problems” and it would “take the appeals of China Airlines [CAL] employees seriously and resolve the problems with sincerity.”
Tsai’s charter service to Panama via the US was provided by CAL, Taiwan’s flag carrier, which yesterday canceled all 67 scheduled flights departing from Taoyuan and Songshan airports because of the strike.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
CAL flights departing from Kaohsiung and Tainan were not affected because flight attendants based in southern Taiwan are not members of the union in Taoyuan that called the strike.
Tsai’s charter airplane, a Boeing 777-300ER, was an exception to the strike. It had a crew of five pilots and 14 flight attendants.
Tsai said the main goal of her trip to Latin America is to increase Taiwan’s international visibility.
Tsai said she would interact with the leaders of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies at the inauguration ceremony of the expanded Panama Canal and let them know that Taiwan is a trustworthy friend.
Tsai said that many Taiwanese ships transit the Panama Canal, adding that she thinks most Taiwanese would be proud that she is attending the ceremony.
Tsai said that she would also reassure overseas Taiwanese diplomats, businesspeople and non-governmental groups that her government would work with them to improve Taiwan’s international relations.
As part of her international relations efforts, Tsai said she wants to bolster trade links with Latin American nations.
Her delegation includes several Taiwanese business representatives who are looking to build partnerships in Latin America, she said.
The president’s flight is to make a transit stop in Miami, where Tsai is expected to meet with US-based Miami Marlins pitcher Chen Wei-yin (陳偉殷).
Tsai’s first stop on US soil as president comes one day after the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed a resolution that reaffirmed the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances” as the foundation of relations between the US and Taiwan.
Tsai is scheduled to arrive in Panama today, where she is to meet with a US congressional delegation that is attending the opening ceremony of the expanded canal.
She is scheduled to leave for Paraguay on Monday.
Tsai is to depart Paraguay on Thursday for Los Angeles, where she is to stay overnight before returning to Taiwan on Friday.
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