Taiwanese president lands on US soil in face of protests from Beijing
Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Hawaii flies in face of objections from mainland Chinese authorities who fear she may push for independence
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen landed in Hawaii on Saturday en route to a visit to Taipei’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific despite strong objections from Beijing.
Beijing regards self-ruled Taiwan as its sovereign territory and regularly calls it the most sensitive and important issue between it and the United States, complaining to Washington about transit stops by Taiwanese presidents.
China has not renounced the possible use of force to bring the island under its control.
Tsai, who China believes is seeking formal independence for Taiwan, left on Saturday on a week-long trip to three Pacific allies – Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands – via Honolulu and the US territory of Guam.
For her part, Tsai has said she wants to maintain peace with Beijing but will defend Taiwan’s democracy and security.
Earlier this week, the US State Department said Tsai’s transits through American soil would be “private and unofficial” and were based on long-standing US practice consistent with “our unofficial relations with Taiwan”.