Taiwanese vice-president talks to at least 17 US lawmakers during stopover
- William Lai holds virtual meetings during transit in Los Angeles, speaking to 17 members of Congress in the first morning, Taiwanese media says
- Lai is on his way to cement ties with Honduras, which previously flirted with switching its diplomatic recognition to Beijing
Lai departed on Tuesday for a six-day trip in which he will attend Thursday’s inauguration of Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro as a special envoy of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, aimed at bolstering relations with the Central American country.
He had seven video conferences with American politicians from his hotel after arriving in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning local time, Taiwanese media reported on Wednesday.
01:07
No change to US’ one-China stand on Taiwan, Blinken tells Wang Yi on G20 sidelines in Rome
“[Lai] had just one hour’s rest at the hotel and started his first meeting with US members of Congress via video link at 9am, and by the end of the morning he had already talked with 17,” the semi-official Central News Agency (CNA) reported.