The Presidential Office yesterday urged the public to refrain from speculation following reports that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) plans to meet with US president-elect Donald Trump when traveling to Central America on a state visit next month.
“Regarding media reports today [yesterday] that the president plans to meet with president-elect Trump and his team during a state visit next month, they are all just wild speculation,” the office said in a statement.
Details of any overseas state visit by Tsai or Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) would be made public after they are confirmed and finalized, it added.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday cited an anonymous source as saying that Tsai plans to visit Central American diplomatic ally Nicaragua next month to attend the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and is expected to make a transit stop in New York.
“[Tsai’s aides] are working to secure a meeting with US Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who has been named as Trump’s White House chief of staff,” the report said. “They also do not rule out a meeting with Trump.”
The report followed a historic telephone call between Tsai and Trump on Friday, which lasted about 10 minutes and was focused mainly on economic development and improving Taiwan’s national defense.
It was the first publicly reported call between a Taiwanese leader and a US president or president-elect since Washington severed official diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979 and switched recognition to Beijing.
Citing another source familiar with the matter who also requested anonymity, the report said that while the public has questioned whether the Tsai administration had “bet on the wrong US presidential candidate” following Trump’s unexpected electoral victory, Tsai has already established a line of communication with Trump’s camp through the Washington-based Heritage Foundation’s founder Edwin Feulner and the nation’s representative office in the US capital.
The source was quoted as saying that at the time, the administration’s priority was getting Tsai and Trump to talk on the telephone, adding that, despite positive responses from the Trump camp during initial communication, the Presidential Office remained discreet about the matter.
Trump’s open acknowledgment of the call on Twitter caught Tsai’s team by surprise, the source said.
The Tsai administration hopes that an in-person interaction with Trump could provide a further boost to Taiwan-US relations, the report said, adding that National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) allegedly made a visit to the US recently to negotiate a possible meeting.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old