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.
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS