Taiwan president plans visit to Hawai'i
Associated Press
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's leader plans to visit Hawai'i and Seattle in two weeks, officials said this week.
A trip to the United States by President Chen Shui-bian would defy rival China's intense campaign to block Taiwanese leaders from visiting major nations. It also could put Hawai'i officials in an awkward position.
Chen
"It is a difficult and delicate situation," Gov. Linda Lingle said, recalling that a year ago she met with Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu during a stopover en route to Central America.
Earlier this month, the state secured a rare business license with the Chinese government, opening the way for Hawai'i to do more aggressive tourism marketing and trade promotion in China.
The governor said she didn't think meeting with the Taiwan president during a stopover would jeopardize that license.
Although Hawai'i has had a presence in China for years, the state wasn't licensed to do business there. That meant officials weren't able to directly market to the public and had to use a go-between to advertise in the media.
Nevada, which opened a tourism office in Beijing on June 11, is the only other state licensed by the Chinese government.
"As you know, Hawai'i is a place of aloha," Lingle said. "It's not just an expression for the tourism posters. It's how we feel, and we welcome all people here."
Chen's visit could require some delicate diplomatic treatment by the Lingle administration to avoid offending leaders in a promising new tourism and trade market.
"When the vice president came, I did make some contact with the State Department about it. I don't want us to do anything that is against what our nation's policy is," Lingle said.
"We have close ties with Taiwan and with China," she said.
Chen will make his U.S. stops while traveling to Panama and Belize, which are among the few nations that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the Presidential Office said.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing is eager for unification. China's communist rulers consider democratic Taiwan to be a province of China that's ruled by an illegal government.
Beijing tries to isolate Taiwan by pressuring other countries to sever formal ties with the island and deny visas to Taiwanese leaders. The campaign has largely been successful in Europe and Asia. But the United States — which doesn't have official relations with Taiwan — has ignored China's protests and has allowed Chen to visit several times during the past four years.
Chen will stop in the Islands on Aug. 30 as he travels to Panama to attend President-elect Martin Torrijos's inauguration Sept. 1. He'll visit Belize on Sept. 2 before returning to Taiwan after a Sept. 3 stopover in Seattle.
Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona will be at the Republican National Convention in New York when Chen arrives in Honolulu. It's not known if Attorney General Mark Bennett, who will be acting governor that day, will greet or meet with Chen, said Lingle's press secretary, Russell Pang.
This is the first time Chen has visited Hawai'i and Seattle as president. Past trips to Taiwanese diplomatic allies have included stopovers in New York; Los Angeles; Houston; and Anchorage, Alaska. The Taiwanese insist that the U.S. stopovers are necessary for refueling and plane maintenance. But China says they are just ploys to advance Chen's campaign to permanently split China and Taiwan.
Chen insists that Taiwan is an independent country and that only Taiwanese voters can determine whether the island unifies with China.
