China accused President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen left for Nicaragua yesterday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of president-elect Daniel Ortega, stopping en route in San Francisco.
Chen was scheduled to meet privately in San Francisco with Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.
Chen was to spend the night in San Francisco before flying on to Nicaragua today for Ortega's inauguration.
China slammed the stopover.
"The Chinese side opposes the United States and the Taiwan [sic] authorities having any form of official dealings," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"We express serious concern about related reports," Liu said, referring to Chen's California visit. "We have made serious representations to the US side."
"What should be pointed out is that the real aim of Chen Shui-bian's `transit stop' in the United States is to carry out activities whose purpose is to split China and damage Sino-US relations," Liu added.
Chen will also make a refueling stop in Los Angeles on Friday on his way back to Taiwan.
Chen last year rebuffed the US' offer for stopovers in Alaska or Hawaii on the way to Latin America, after he was barred from high-profile transits in New York or San Francisco.
Instead, he stopped in Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam en route to Latin America, and in the Dominican Republic and Libya on the way home, triggering criticism from the opposition that he had jeopardized ties with the US.
However, Chen landed for several hours in the US territory of Guam last September during a South Pacific tour.
A US official said Chen would simply "transit" this time.
"We understand President Chen's activities will be private and unofficial, consistent with the purposes of a transit," an AIT spokesman said yesterday, referring to the San Francisco and Los Angeles stopovers.
Nicaragua is one of Taiwan's 24 diplomatic allies. However, Ortega is a former pro-communist leader who broke with Taiwan and switched allegiance to China when he served as Nicaragua's president in the 1980s, leading some in Taiwan to fear he could do the same thing again when he retakes office.
In his campaign for the November elections, Ortega vowed to recognize Beijing if elected and sever ties with Taiwan. But Chen's visit comes amid speculation that Nicaragua may maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan in return for lucrative aid compensation.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
RSS