COMING SOON

Taiwanese President Plans 2 U.S. Stops

China has urged Washington to stop her from landing stateside.

Taiwan’s president is going ahead with plans to make two stops in the U.S. next month en route to Central America—hitting both San Francisco and Houston on the way. The visit promises to anger China, which has already demanded that Washington prohibit President Tsai Ing-wen and her delegation from landing stateside entirely. The Houston visit will be on Jan. 7, before Tsai goes to San Francisco on Jan 13. According to an official schedule, she travels next to Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Beijing has repeatedly asked the U.S. to prevent Tsai's trip through the U.S., in order to avoid “sending the wrong signal to Taiwanese independence forces.” President-elect Donald Trump last month broke decades of diplomatic protocol, speaking on the phone with Tsai after his election victory. It was believed to be the first contact between a president-elect in the U.S. and the leader of Taiwan since 1979. Shortly afterward, China’s foreign ministry lodged an official diplomatic complaint with the U.S. over the talk.