Vice President Annette Lu (
Speaking in Guatemala City at the end of a one-week tour of four Central American countries, Lu expressed regret Beijing continued to view Taiwan as part of China.
She said Taiwan's 23 million people do not accept such a position and would be willing to engage in cross-strait dialogue if China abandoned this "backward mentality" and its insistence on the "one China" principle as a precondition to beginning negotiations with Taiwan.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Lu also said Beijing's "one China, two systems" model for Hong Kong is not suitable for Taiwan, adding that the system has already faced fierce criticism by a large section of the population in Hong Kong.
Lu described her tour of El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and Guatemala as "positive."
Asked about signs that some of these countries, including Guatemala, were trying to mend relations with Beijing, Lu said Taiwan could not act to limit the contacts of its friends.
She pointed out that Taiwan should be confident and understanding about its allies' contact with China, adding that the leaders of El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala all reiterated their continued support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN.
Lu also said that the presidents of El Salvador and Honduras and the prime minister of Belize will visit Taiwan in November and December, while the president of Guatemala will visit Taiwan in March next year.
After a stopover in Acapulco, Mexico, Lu arrived in San Francisco Saturday evening and was scheduled yesterday to visit San Jose, the heart of California's information capital Silicon Valley, as she prepared to wrap up her first official trip to the Americas.
Lu and a large entourage of state officials and Asian reporters touched down at San Francisco International Airport shortly after 6pm on Saturday.
Officials traveling with Lu said she had meetings planned with prominent members of California's Taiwanese community.
During her stay in Silicon Valley, Lu would visit the San Jose Technology Museum, and meetings with leading figures of the area's information community were likely.
The vice president is scheduled to leave the San Francisco-San Jose area today, and will continue her US travels, making stops in Los Angeles and Miami before she returns to Taipei, aides said.
Lu will return to Taipei tomorrow, ending her first overseas trip since becoming vice president.
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