HONOLULU — On a two-day visit to Hawaii, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te met with the state’s governor and congressional representatives as part of a Pacific island tour that has already triggered criticism from Beijing.
On Sunday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemned” U.S. support for Lai’s visit and had lodged a complaint with the U.S.
It also denounced a newly announced U.S. weapons sale to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its own territory.
“China will closely monitor the situation’s development, and take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the statement.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen drew vocal opposition from China when she stopped in New York last year on her way to Latin America.
HONOLULU — As part of a Pacific island tour that has already drawn criticism from Beijing, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te stopped in Hawaii for two days to meet with the governor and congressional representatives.
China’s Foreign Ministry declared on Sunday that it “strongly condemned” U. S. . support for Lai’s trip and had protested to the U.S. A. It also criticized a recently revealed U. S. . sale of weapons to Taiwan, an independent island that China asserts is part of its territory.
The statement declared that China would “vigilantly monitor the situation’s development and take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”.
Lai’s weeklong journey, which would also include stops in the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau, began in Hawaii. Three out of the twelve nations with which Taipei maintains formal diplomatic ties are represented by them.
Hawaiian Gov. Lai was hosted by Josh Green on Saturday at the state’s emergency management agency, where they talked about disaster readiness. Prior to becoming governor, Green worked as an emergency room doctor for many years. He shared on social media that he and Lai talked about how their backgrounds in medicine influenced their governance. In addition to having a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, Lai is a medical professional by training.
Green wrote on Instagram, “Together, we extended a warm aloha to Lai and his delegation, highlighting Hawai’i’s shared values of resilience and collaboration with Taiwan.”.
Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s premier museum of Native Hawaiian culture and natural history, was another place Lai visited.
The Taiwanese American community hosted a dinner banquet in the evening, where Lai posed for pictures with state and congressional lawmakers from Hawaii.
U. A. Representative. On social media, Democrat Ed Case, the congressman for Honolulu, stated that he told the crowd that “our ties endured on shared values and interests to advance mutual goals and meet shared challenges.”. “”.
It is unclear if Lai will meet with any high-ranking Biden administration officials or members of the incoming Trump administration while he is in Hawaii.
In a July interview with Bloomberg, president-elect Donald Trump stated that Taiwan should foot the bill for its defense. The island has bought defense weapons worth billions of dollars from the United States. S. .
Trump avoided answering the question of whether he would protect the island from military action by China.
The U.S. announced new weapons. S. The State Department said Friday that it would provide Taiwan with a tactical communication system and $385 million worth of equipment and spare parts for an F-16 fleet.
The U. A. remains strategically ambiguous about whether it would ever intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, despite being required by the Taiwan Relations Act to assist the island in defending itself.
When former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen visited New York last year en route to Latin America, she encountered strong opposition from China. At the time, Tsai had a meeting with Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House.
In a “stern warning” over alleged collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” the Chinese military also conducted drills around Taiwan last year, just days after Lai, the vice president of Taiwan at the time, visited the United States. S.
Leading American politicians visiting the island is also strongly opposed by China, which sees any formal interaction with foreign governments and Taiwan as a violation of its sovereignty claims. In 1979, Washington formally recognized Beijing instead of Taipei.
