A Taiwanese-American businesswoman and her commercial ties to US president-elect Donald Trump have been thrust into the spotlight since he broke with almost four decades of Taiwan policy by taking a congratulatory telephone call from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The scrutiny of Charlyne Chen (陳思庭) has centered on a September meeting to discuss projects in Taoyuan and if she was there representing the Trump Organization. While initially little noticed, interest in that meeting has intensified after Trump’s election victory and a public announcement that he spoke on Friday with Tsai, prompting a diplomatic protest from China.
In a brief telephone conversation on Monday with Bloomberg News, Chen said that while she was not a Trump employee, she had had interactions with his organization.
Speaking on Nov. 24 with local broadcaster Formosa Television, Chen said she had helped sell properties at a Trump Organization development in Las Vegas to buyers in Taiwan and Shanghai.
Trump Organization spokeswoman Amanda Miller said the company had no plan for expansion in Taiwan and that there had been no authorized visits to push development projects there.
No US president or president-elect has disclosed conversations with a leader of Taiwan since Washington broke ties with Taipei to recognize Beijing in 1979.
Trump’s decision to break from that policy comes ahead of Friday next week’s briefing he is scheduled to address concerns on how he will avoid conflicts with his business interests as president.
At the September meeting Chen attended with the mayor of Taoyuan, local officials provided her with information about the Taoyuan Aerotropolis Project, a mixed-use site of residential, commercial and transportation developments currently being reviewed by the government.
In a statement issued Nov. 17 in response to local media reports, the city said Chen at the meeting presented a document from the Trump Organization outlining her business ties with the company.
Chen showed a copy of a letter during an appearance on Formosa Television last month. It was an undated welcome letter to Trump International Hotel Las Vegas visitors from Taiwan.
The letter refers to Chen as a “sales ambassador,” with whom potential investors could meet regarding the “ownership opportunities” they were being offered.
When speaking by phone Monday, Chen denied she was using links to the Trump Organization for personal benefit.
She said she had hosted a dinner for Trump supporters in Taipei ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
“I didn’t come out and support him after he got elected, I actually held a dinner for him before that,” Chen said.
That dinner for about 50 guests took place on Nov. 1, according to Sanlih E-Television.
Chen told attendees that Trump was interested in building a tower in Taiwan, the broadcaster reported.
At a daily briefing on Monday in Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said progress made in US-Chinese relationship “could be undermined by this issue flaring up,” referring to Trump’s conversation with Tsai.
“It’s a sensitive matter,” Earnest said. “Whenever you are talking about the president-elect of the United States interacting with foreign leaders, it’s incredibly important” and has a “profound impact.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard