TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government was not commenting Thursday (Nov. 14) on media reports that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) plans to transit in Hawaii on his way to Taiwan’s Pacific ally, Tuvalu, later this month.
The trip would be Lai’s first official overseas visit since taking office in May. Earlier reports said that Washington would only agree to a stopover in Hawaii but not in the continental United States, newtalk.com reported Tuesday (Nov. 12).
Any decision on a transit stop needed to be backed up by a consensus between both countries, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said. He added he was confident that national security officials would organize a trip through the usual channels.
The renewed interest in the possibility of the president traveling overseas arose because he has been in office for six months without any visit to the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean, where most of Taiwan’s 12 allies are situated.
Media speculation hinted Lai might travel to Tuvalu in late November or early December and would stop over in Hawaii. Presidential diplomacy was proceeding according to the usual methods, so there would be no special problems, Radio Taiwan International reported unspecified national security sources as saying Thursday.