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Washington didn't veto Lu's stopover, diplomat says

Taiwan's top diplomat in Washington has denied press reports that the US vetoed a New York transit stop for Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) during her current trip to Latin America.

Chen Chien-jen (程建仁), head of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office, told reporters on Tuesday that the decision on Lu's stopovers on the way to and from Latin America were decided mutually by an "exchange of views" that resulted in a "consensus."

Chen refuted press reports that the White House had rejected Taiwan's request for a stopover in New York for Lu, saying that the President George W. Bush administration is much easier to talk to about such issues than previous US administrations.

Chen noted that the Bush administration has agreed to let Lu stopover in four other US cities as part of her itinerary en route to Paraguay, where she will represent Taiwan at the inauguration ceremony for the newly elected Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos.

Lu will visit four cities during her time in the US: Honolulu, Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle.

Lu will arrive in Hawaii today for two days, during which time she will meet with Hawaii's first female Republican governor, Linda Lingle, and other local politicians.

Then Lu will fly to Los Angeles, where she will stay from Saturday till Monday. In Los Angeles, she will meet a number of California congressmen, likely including one of Taiwan's biggest supporters in Congress -- Dana Rohrabacher, a co-chairman of the Taiwan Congressional Caucus.

From Los Angeles, Lu will travel to Panama en route to Paraguay, where she will represent President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at the inauguration of the new president.

Lu will return via Houston for a short stop en route to Seattle, where she will meet local government officials as well as taking tours of the facilities of Microsoft and, perhaps, Boeing.

Lu's trip will usher in a summer of intense two-way travel between Taiwan and the US, Chen Chien-jen said. The intensity reflects the fact that the SARS epidemic earlier this year forced the postponement of a number of trips that normally would have taken place in the spring -- when the SARS epidemic was at its peak and severely limited international travel.

Among the most prominent visitors to Washington will be Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who will be in Washington between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20. He will hold talks on emergency preparations with the US Federal Emergency Management Administration, and will deliver a talk at a meeting of the the US-Taiwan Business Council.

Other Taiwanese visitors in coming weeks will also deal with emergency preparations and anti-terrorism preparations in meetings with the new Department of Homeland Security.

In addition, no less than five groups of US congressional staffers will be traveling to Taiwan this month, Chen Chien-jen said.

Each group will likely have an average of 10 key staffers, selected for their importance to legislation concerning Taiwan. For many, Chen Chien-jen said, it will be a first visit, allowing them to gain a greater understanding of Taiwan as they advise their congressmen and Senator bosses on policy and legislation affecting Taiwan.

He added that his office expects to arrange a few visits to Taiwan by members of Congress by the end of the year.

If the visits cannot be arranged, they will be more difficult next year, an election year in both the US and Taiwan.
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