Taiwan's representative to the US David Lee (
Lee told the media at a regular press conference that he has contacted the US authorities about the prospects for Chen's attending in person the APEC leadership summit to be held in South Korea's second-largest city of Pusan in November.
In response to recent media reports in South Korea describing the chances of Chen's attendance at the summit as "slim, if not nil," Lee said that Taiwanese diplomats should not be pessimistic despite Beijing's persistent suppression and the nation's difficult situation in the international community.
Taiwan was admitted in 1991 to APEC, one of the few international organizations that admits both Taipei and Beijing. Because of Beijing's opposition, Taiwan's president has been unable to attend previous APEC leadership meetings and has instead had to name a proxy to attend on his behalf.
In line with a long-followed protocol, the organizing committee of this year's APEC summit sent a special envoy to Taipei last Friday to forward an invitation to Chen. While meeting with the special envoy, Chen said he looks forward to attending the summit as the leader of "Chinese Taipei" -- Taiwan's official APEC designation.
The US State Department said recently that should Taiwan plan to change the top delegate to the APEC summit meeting, the plan must be agreed upon by all the APEC member countries in advance.
Meanwhile, Lee told the media that he has had no difficulty negotiating with the US authorities about the prospects of Chen's layover stays in the US on his way to and from Central America between late next month and early September.
Lee said the US government fully understands the need for stopovers on US soil for Chen during his Central American trip.
Relevant officials in Taipei will make formal announcement on the dates and itinerary of the trip when all details are finalized, Lee said.
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