Taiwan’s VP Makes Stop in NYC Transit Despite Beijing’s Opposition

On his way to a state visit to Paraguay on Saturday, Taiwan’s VP Lai Ching-te ignored Beijing’s pressure and stopped in New York City for a layover.

In order to meet with members of the Taiwanese American community, Lai, the front-runner in Taiwan’s forthcoming presidential election, is using the layover in New York City. 

China responded to Lai’s presence with a stern verbal rebuke and started a three-day military exercise in the East China Sea on Saturday, a usual show of force from Beijing to protest the island’s foreign political operations.

However, considering that China’s ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, told a crowd at the Aspen Security Forum last month that stopping Lai’s stopovers was his top goal, China’s response was very subdued. 

These stopover travel trips are an important feature of the island’s foreign relations because the US does not formally recognize Taiwan as part of its ties with China. 

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Diplomatic Tensions: Beijing’s Response to US-Taiwan Engagements

As a result, Beijing and Washington frequently keep an eye on the travel, and according to American custom, these visitors should be given a low-key welcome.Lai had video conferences from his hotel in Los Angeles with 17 US congressmen during a prior US transit stop in January 2022. 

Beijing retaliated by submitting a solemn representation to the US government, which included a demand that the Biden administration halt engaging in improper official relations with Taiwan. Tsai Ing-Wen, the president of Taiwan, also traveled to the US earlier this year. 

While there, she met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a number of other members of Congress. China responded to this visit by holding three days of military drills all around the island.

Any travel by Vice President Lai should not be used by Beijing as an excuse for overt coercion or other provocative actions, and it should also not be used as an excuse for meddling in Taiwan’s election.

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Source: www.msn.com