Vice President Annette Lu (
Ministry spokesman Richard Shih (石瑞琦) said the itinerary of the US leg before Lu's visit to El Salvador had yet to be finalized.
Local television reported Lu was due to visit Los Angeles and New York, without specifying whom she would meet.
Lu and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) have previously met US lawmakers during their stopovers but any meeting with US government officials was considered an unlikely move that would anger Beijing.
Relations between Taipei and Washington hit a low point after Chen called a landmark referendum in March on relations with China.
The referendum plans provoked a stinging rebuke from Washington, with US President George W. Bush saying he was against any unilateral move threatening the cross-straits status quo.
Lu's trip will also take her to Guatemala and El Salvador as part of Taipei's efforts to consolidate ties with its allies as China steps up a diplomatic push in the region, Taiwan's major international support base.
Twenty-six countries, 13 of them in Latin America, recognize Taiwan.
A Chinese-language newspaper reported that the failure of Honduran President Ricardo Maduro to stop off in Taipei during his current trip to Asia and Europe shows that ties between the two are in danger.
All eyes in Taipei were on whether Maduro would meet Chinese officials in Tokyo or quietly visit Beijing, the paper reported.
But Shih denied any threat to Honduras-Taiwan ties. "Ties with Honduras remain stable," he said.
In its diplomatic tug-of-war with Taipei, Beijing made a fresh score on March 30 when China swayed Dominica.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS