Taiwanese president visits Central America and the United States

Officially, Tsai is stopping over in the United States en route to official visits to Central American countries. Beijing immediately reacted angrily, saying the layovers in the United States are an excuse to spread nationalist propaganda.

The visit comes at a time when relations are already at an all-time low, due to US-China disagreements over Ukraine and the recent ‘balloon problem’ in which the US accused China of spying with balloons . Taiwan is an open nerve in relations. Beijing claims the de facto independent island as part of China and vehemently opposes international recognition of Taiwan as an independent country.

Tsai Ing-wen will take a ten-day trip from March 29 to April 7 that will take her to New York, Los Angeles and Guatemala City, among other places. On her way to the official destination of Guatemala, she will pass through New York and on the way back she will fly to Los Angeles, where she will arrive on April 5. It is not known who she meets in the United States. Some media outlets suggest she will speak to Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.

It is not uncommon for a Taiwanese leader to visit the United States on trips to Latin American countries that recognize Taiwan as an independent state. The United States does not, but is Taiwan’s main supporter and arms supplier. High-level consultations often take place when a Taiwanese president makes “stopovers”.

Taiwan is losing more and more allies

China does not want relations with countries that recognize Taiwan. They are almost non-existent anymore. Both countries shake their moneybags to keep allies or to rob each other. Honduras, a neighbor of Guatemala, has just ended its relations with Taiwan and is in the process of establishing relations with the People’s Republic. Currently, only a number of island states in the Caribbean, Pacific Ocean, Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, and Vatican City recognize the Republic of China, the official name of Taiwan.

After the Communist takeover of China in 1949, many opponents of the Communists fled to the island where they established what they believed to be a legitimate Chinese government. The United States has long supported this position and so it was not until 1971 that the United Nations recognized and admitted the People’s Republic as a member. In 1950, the Netherlands was one of the first Western countries to recognize the communist People’s Republic as a state.

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