US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday confirmed that Vice President William Lai (賴清德) would stop over in the US on his way to Paraguay next month, and urged China not to use the issue as a pretext for provocative actions.
Blinken made the comments after Taipei announced that Lai — the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate — would attend the inauguration of Paraguayan president-elect Santiago Pena on Aug. 15, and would make a stopover in the US.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged a formal protest with Washington over “any visit by Taiwan separatists” and expressed its opposition to the US “indulging and supporting ... separatist activities.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Asked about the issue and its potential impact on US-China ties at a press conference, Blinken said Lai was expected to make stops in the US on both the outbound and return legs of his trip to Paraguay.
“This is very routine, given the distances traveled, to have a transit point. And it is fully consistent with common practice,” he said, adding that vice presidents from Taiwan have made such stopovers 11 times in the past 20 years.
“There is no reason for the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to use this transit as a pretext for provocative action,” he said.
Blinken added that in recent meetings with Chinese officials, he had made clear that the US has no desire to alter the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and that US policy on Taiwan “hasn’t changed.”
“And again, this transit is fully consistent with that policy,” he said.
Elaborating on that point, a US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency that Lai’s stopover adhered with US policy because “transits are not visits; they are unofficial.”
“We’ve explained to Beijing that there is no reason for them to overreact to this transit or to use it as a pretext for provocative action in the Strait or for interference in Taiwan’s election,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
The State Department official added that while Lai’s transit would come in the midst of Taiwan’s presidential campaign, the US is committed to impartiality and the fair treatment of all candidates in the race.
In addition to Lai’s transit, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential nominee, is expected to visit the US in the early fall, the spokesperson said.
Another presidential candidate, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), visited the US in April.
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