President Lai Ching-te has no immediate plans to make an overseas trip, says Taiwan's Presidential Office. The announcement comes amid reports a diplomatic visit to Central and South America has been postponed, one that was widely expected to include transits in the U.S.. Lai’s team says the president is occupied with domestic issues and tariff negotiations, though some reports suggest geopolitics may have played a bigger role in the trip's rescheduling.
00:00President Lai Qingdeo will not be traveling overseas anytime soon.
00:04That's the response from Taiwan's presidential office to reports a diplomatic trip to Central and South America has been postponed.
00:11The tour was widely expected to include transits in the United States.
00:16Our reporter Rhys Ayers joins us live now from outside the presidential office in Taipei.
00:20So Rhys, what's happened with Lai's travel plans?
00:23Well, Jeremy, those travel plans were never officially confirmed by the presidential office.
00:31They usually don't confirm travel plans until just a few days before they actually take place.
00:37But there were reports that there were meetings or conversations between Taiwan and countries like Guatemala, Belize and Paraguay,
00:45which pointed to Lai possibly planning a trip to Central and South America to visit some of Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies in that part of the world.
00:57Now, there were also sources saying that that trip would include stopovers in the United States, in New York and Texas.
01:06But the presidential office issued an official statement that had this to say.
01:12They said that once the president's travel plans are finalized, that they'll be announced to the public then.
01:19But that given recent factors, including bad weather in south of Taiwan, reciprocal tariff discussions with the United States and other regional developments,
01:29that as of right now, or at least for the near future, President Lai has no overseas trips planned.
01:36But there are reports from the Financial Times and also from Bloomberg that quote sources saying that Donald Trump actually denied President Lai permission to transit in the United States after facing some objections by China.
01:55Now, this comes as the U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to meet in Stockholm for some new trade talks.
02:03But we haven't got any official comment from the White House about Lai's trip.
02:08But there is a Facebook post by former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who herself angered China when she visited Taiwan a few years ago.
02:17She shared one of those reports on Facebook and said that it sends a dangerous signal that the United States can be bullied into silence when it comes to Taiwan.
02:27Now, China openly discourages other countries from allowing Taiwanese politicians to visit or even transit and vice versa.
02:37But at a press conference here in Taipei this morning, Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Ministry reiterated the presidential officer's comments about Lai's trip,
02:47but added this when asked about the rumors that the U.S. had been bullied into denying Lai's transit by China.
02:56But I want to emphasize that, in fact, Taiwan is going to do any of those things when it comes to China's抗議 and打壓.
03:06That actually, we should have to ask that the Chinese government should be thinking about how to be a big part of the country as a big part of the country,
03:15how to maintain the country's peace and peace, and not say that in Taipei, in the南海, in the东海,
03:22and not simply create a high-危险 and緊張 situation.
03:28Now, it seems that this may just be a delay to President Lai's trip and not a total cancellation.
03:34But given reports of the U.S. trying to forge better ties with China,
03:40there is a lingering uncertainty about any future trip and whether or not it would be able to have a stopover in the United States.
03:49Thanks, Rhys. That was Rhys Ayers, live from outside the presidential office in Taipei.
