Latest news with #US-Taiwan
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US senator plans trip to Taiwan as Trump's interest in island cools: Report
Taipei, Taiwan – A senior United States Republican legislator is reportedly planning a trip to Taiwan, according to media reports, where fears have been growing that US President Donald Trump is losing interest in relations with the democratic, self-ruled island in favour of building ties with China. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that US Senator Roger Wicker from Mississippi is planning to visit Taiwan in August, citing three people familiar with the matter. Wicker is the Republican chair of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee and 'one of Taiwan's biggest allies in Congress', according to the report. Wicker's office and the American Institute in Taiwan – Washington's de facto embassy in Taipei – did not immediately reply to Al Jazeera's request for comment on the reported trip. US legislators regularly visit Taiwan, an unofficial ally of Washington, but Wicker's trip comes at a time of uncertainty for US-Taiwan relations. Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te was reportedly planning to stop in the US next month en route to visiting allies in Latin America, but he cancelled his travel plans after Trump nixed a layover in New York, the Financial Times also reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Lai's office never officially announced the trip, but on Monday, his office said the president had no plans to travel overseas as he focused on typhoon cleanup in southern Taiwan and tariff negotiations with the US. The timing of President Lai's cancelled visit was noted in Taiwan, as it was followed by a separate announcement from Trump that he hoped to visit China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping as Beijing and Washington hammer out a tariff deal. Xi, who also heads the Chinese Communist Party, has pledged to annex Taiwan by peace or by force and considers Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to be 'separatists'. Beijing objects to visits by Taiwanese leaders to the US, even if they are carried out on an unofficial basis. Experts say it is possible that Wicker's trip was planned months ago, but the visit could still be used by US legislators to assuage fears that the White House is losing interest in Taiwan. 'I'm sure many will hope for words of affirmation and commitment to the US-Taiwan relationship, which before would be par for the course, but today will feel extra needed to assure both the DPP and Taiwanese citizens who have a declining view of the United States,' said Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Taiwan University in Taipei. Although the US is Taiwan's security guarantor and has pledged to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself, there are deep currents of scepticism towards the US – known as yimeilun – running through Taiwanese society. That has grown more prominent since Trump took office last year and said that Taiwan should pay for its own defence, later threatening to slap a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese exports. A survey in April of 1,500 Taiwanese voters by Nachman and others found that just 23.1 percent viewed the US as either a 'trustworthy or very trustworthy' partner, down from 33.6 percent in June 2024 when US President Joe Biden was still in office. 'The Trump administration's policy choices are impacting public opinion in Taiwan and South Korea. In the span of a few months, attitudes towards the United States in both Taiwan and South Korea have become more negative. Still, the United States continues to be the most important partner for Taiwan and South Korea,' the survey said.
Boston Globe
13 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Trump administration told Taiwan president to avoid New York stopover
Trump's desire for steady relations with China, and potentially to secure a summit with President Xi Jinping, may have influenced his administration's position on Lai's travel plans. Trump has said he is open to visiting China to meet with Xi. Advertisement Confirmation of Lai's travels would have riled China, which held trade negotiations with Trump's team in Stockholm this week. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and sees the United States' support for Taiwan as meddling in a domestic issue. Beijing routinely objects to Taiwanese leaders' visits abroad, particularly to the US. Matthew Pottinger, who was the longest-serving deputy national security adviser in the first Trump administration, criticized the apparent decision by US officials to 'bend over backwards' in the face of Chinese objections to transit stops by the Taiwanese leader. He noted that such visits were common during the first Trump term — he had met with the Taiwanese president on a visit to New York — and during the Biden administration. Advertisement 'Beijing will pocket this concession and ask for more,' Pottinger said. According to two officials familiar with the planning, Lai called off the trip after Trump administration officials told him to revise his itinerary for the US, specifically to forgo the visit to New York, which was viewed as more high-profile. The news about the Trump administration's objections to Lai's travel plans was earlier reported by The Financial Times. On Monday evening, Lai's spokesperson, Karen Kuo, said the president had no plans to travel soon. Lai needed to focus on dealing with damage in southern Taiwan from a typhoon, as well as trade talks with the Trump administration, Kuo said. She said the reports of US obstructions were 'inaccurate' and 'purely speculative.' While Lai's office had never publicly confirmed the trip, three Taiwanese officials had in recent days and weeks privately described his plans to stop in New York and Dallas as part of his travels to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize, three of Taiwan's diplomatic partners in Latin America. David Sacks, a fellow in Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in US-Taiwan relations, pointed out that such US stops were coordinated with Washington. 'The idea that Taiwan would plan a trip for its president to visit three of its diplomatic partners while transiting through the United States, all without approval from senior American officials, strains credulity,' he said. Advertisement The White House National Security Council did not reply to a request for comment. Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, told reporters Tuesday that because Taiwan had not announced any travel plans by Lai, any discussion about it was 'a hypothetical.' Lai's predecessor as president, Tsai Ing-wen, visited New York in 2023, during the Biden administration. Tsai also met in California with Kevin McCarthy, then the speaker of the House, the third-ranking post in the US government. That was the highest-level in-person meeting for a leader of Taiwan in the United States since Washington switched diplomatic relations from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China in 1979. The United States maintains political, economic, and security ties with Taiwan, and allows the island's president to make stops on the way to and from other countries — but Washington has sometimes set limits. In 2006, President Chen Shui-bian canceled a plan to travel through the United States after Washington denied him permission to stop in New York. Taiwanese officials had made arrangements for Lai to give a speech in New York, and he was expected to attend an exhibition of Taiwanese technology and products in Dallas, according to two researchers who had heard about the plans from diplomats. Asked about the reports that the Trump administration had blocked Lai's plans for visiting the US this time, a spokesperson for the Chinese government's Taiwan affairs office reiterated that Beijing 'adamantly opposes' any such visits at any time. This article originally appeared in
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Trump's reported snub of Taiwan president spurs concerns over deference to China
The Trump administration is reportedly blocking Taiwan's president from stopping over in New York City, en route to a diplomatic meeting in Central America, following pressure from China. The Financial Times reported Monday that the administration has denied Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te the opportunity to stop over in New York City during a planned trip to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize — all countries that recognize Taiwan as its own independent country. However, on Monday, the office of the president in Taiwan released a statement indicating that Lai "currently has no plans to go on an overseas visit," according to Taiwan-state media. A source familiar with the matter at the State Department confirmed that no formal travel plans for President Lai have been announced. "In consideration of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in southern Taiwan following a recent typhoon and regional developments including the United States' tariffs, the president currently has no plans to go on an overseas visit," the statement from President Lai said. According to the Financial Times, which spoke with unnamed sources said to be intimately familiar with the alleged trip, Lai's decision not to travel came after he was informed that he would not be able to stop in New York City on his way to Central America. Lai's trip was also reportedly supposed to include a stop in Dallas, but it is unclear if the Trump administration was also planning to bar Lai from stopping there as well, according to the Financial Times. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. However, a State Department source familiar with the matter indicated that the Trump administration continues to be committed to the government's long-standing one China policy, rooted in the Taiwan Relations Act, joint diplomatic agreements with China and longstanding pledges crafted by the government in regard to Taiwan and China. Despite being in line with longstanding government policy, the move still garnered criticism from some Asia policy experts and critics of Trump. Lyle Morris, a senior fellow on foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society's Center for China Analysis, said the "first concrete move" under Trump's second term regarding Taiwan is "a cause for concern." "The assumption is this decision was made in the context of ongoing US-China trade negotiations and a possible Trump-Xi meeting," Morris said on X. "Still, not a good sign for enduring US-Taiwan relations." "Denying President Lai a transit is a deeply concerning break with bipartisan precedent and sends a reckless signal to Beijing that our partnership with Taiwan is on the negotiating table," added Democrat Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., in a post on X following the news about President Lai's alleged travel. "American leadership is now seen as deeply unreliable, with Trump's fits and starts with Ukraine, NATO allies, and other key partners. I urge President Trump to reverse course and do what presidents of both parties have done and allow a transit, and ask my colleagues in Congress to join me in that call." News of the Trump administration's decision to prohibit the Taiwanese president from stopping in New York City comes as the president is reportedly feeling out a potential trip to Beijing himself, alongside major U.S. CEOs. Nothing so far has been set in stone regarding Trump's trip, however.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Taiwan president cancels South America trip after Trump blocked New York stopover
The president of Taiwan has been forced to delay a diplomatic trip abroad after the Trump administration blocked him from landing in the US. Lai Ching-te's trip to Central America looks set to be scrapped after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. Mr Lai had planned to transit in New York en route to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, all of which recognise Taiwan's sovereignty. But the Trump administration blocked Mr Lai from landing in the city after Beijing flagged the visit, three people familiar with the decision told the Financial Times. '...considering the recent typhoon disaster recovery efforts in southern Taiwan, the US-Taiwan reciprocal tariff measures and regional developments, the president currently has no plans for overseas visits in the near future,' Karen Kuo, the spokesman for the Taiwanese president said. The timing of such a trip was likely to infuriate Beijing which is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with President Donald Trump. China has not ruled out use of force China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim Taiwan rejects, and regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. Xi Jinping, the president of China, has not ruled out the use of force in the 'reunification of the motherland'. Mr Lai has yet to visit the US since Trump took office in January, though late last year he stopped over in Hawaii and the American territory of Guam while visiting the Pacific. The US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Several people familiar with the decision to block the New York stopover suggested the administration was trying to avoid jeopardising trade talks with China. Bonnie Glaser, a China and Taiwan expert at the German Marshall Fund, told the FT that the move suggested that 'Trump wants to avoid irritating Beijing while US-China negotiations are ongoing and planning gets under way for a possible summit with Xi Jinping'. 'Trump should be standing up to People's Republic of China pressure, not caving into it,' she said. 'By signalling that aspects of the US relationship with Taiwan are negotiable, Trump will weaken deterrence and embolden Xi to press for additional concessions regarding Taiwan.'
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Taiwan's Lai set to push back US stopover as US-China trade talks continue, sources say
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te had considered stopping in the US cities of New York and Dallas on his way to and from Latin America. WASHINGTON/TAIPEI - Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te is set to delay a diplomatically sensitive trip his team had floated to the Trump administration for August that would have included stops in the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter. Such a trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim Taiwan rejects, and regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The trip, which could have included visits to Guatemala, Belize and Paraguay, was never formally confirmed but had been discussed with the governments involved, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr Lai had considered stopping in New York and Dallas on the way to and from Latin America. Mr Lai is set to delay the trip until at least later this year for a handful of reasons, including the need to organise his government's response to extreme weather in Taiwan, one of the sources said. Two of the sources also pinned the delay on the ongoing US tariff talks with Taipei and Beijing, respectively. Top US and Chinese economic officials huddled in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 28 to resume talks. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Cambodia, Thailand agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road recovery works progressing steadily, tests under way Singapore ST Explains: What we know about the Tanjong Katong sinkhole so far Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Sport Gan Ching Hwee breaks 2 national records, qualifies for World Aquatics C'ships 1,500m final Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Business SIA Q1 profit falls 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care The White House and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Taiwan's Presidential Office was not immediately available for comment late on the night of July 28. 'There's no such thing as cancelling the trip. In fact, further arrangement for the trip will be made later this year,' according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who said stopovers were likely to include Texas and another city in the US mainland. Responding to media inquiries earlier on July 28, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said once the president's overseas visit itinerary is finalised, it will be announced to the public in a timely manner. 'However, considering the recent typhoon disaster recovery efforts in southern Taiwan, the US-Taiwan reciprocal tariff measures and regional developments, the president currently has no plans for overseas visits in the near future,' Ms Kuo said. Lowering tensions The decision comes as Mr Trump has tried to lower tensions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and potentially have a summit in Asia with him this autumn. Mr Lai has yet to visit the US since Mr Trump took office in January, though late in 2024 he stopped over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam while visiting the Pacific. The US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Washington is the island's top arms supplier. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. Trump administration spokespeople have previously said "transits of the United States by high-level Taiwan officials, including presidents, are in line with past practice, and fully consistent with our longstanding policy." China's Foreign Ministry has previously condemned what it has called 'sneaky visits' to the US by Taiwanese leaders under any pretext. They have said the US must understand how sensitive the Taiwan issue is and act with the utmost caution. REUTERS
