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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Tsai embarks on official visit to Central America
President Tsai Ing-wen, right, shakes hands with foreign envoys before leaving to visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Columbia and El Salvador, at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: EPA
TWO GOALS: President Tsai Ing-wen said she aims to improve Taiwan’s foreign relations based on ‘steadfast diplomacy’ and explore trade opportunities with allies
/ Staff writer, with CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday began her second overseas trip since taking office in May last year, visiting the nation’s Central American allies, while transiting in two US cities.
Tsai said that the first goal of her trip is to consolidate diplomatic relations and deepen trade exchanges with Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
However, Tsai’s planned transit stops in Houston, Texas, as well as San Francisco have garnered more attention than the visit itself.
Tsai’s administration has refused to divulge whether she will meet with any US officials, US president-elect Donald Trump or any members of his incoming administration.
Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before departing for Honduras, Tsai reaffirmed her administration’s resolve to improve Taiwan’s foreign relations based on “steadfast diplomacy,” which aims to create mutually beneficial relations with diplomatic allies.
Tsai said she would not only meet with the presidents of the four allies, but would also interact with the leaders of other nations.
The second goal of her visit is to deepen bilateral cooperation with allies, Tsai said, adding that there might be opportunities in Central America.
It is important to bolster trade relations with the four nations, she said.
Tsai is to meet with Taiwanese diplomats and expatriates in Central America.
During the nine-day trip, Tsai is also to meet with heads of state from other nations attending the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Tsai was scheduled to make a stopover in Houston yesterday before continuing to Honduras today.
The Presidential Office has not released details about who Tsai would meet with in Houston besides Taiwanese expatriates.
She is also to visit the technology industry there.
After arriving in Honduras, Tsai is to inspect a bilateral cooperative project undertaken by Taiwan and Honduras.
She is to meet with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez tomorrow before departing for Nicaragua.
Tsai is to attend Ortega’s inauguration on Tuesday, after meeting Nicaragua-based Taiwanese businesspeople the same day.
Tsai is scheduled to arrive in Guatemala on Wednesday, when she is to hold discussions with Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales.
She is to head to El Salvador the next day and meet with Salvadorean President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, according to her itinerary.
On her way back from Central America, she is to make a transit stop in San Francisco on Friday, during which she is to meet with Taiwanese expatriates and visit the innovation industry there.
She is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Sunday next week.
Regarding Tsai’s stopovers in Houston and San Francisco, US Department of State spokesman John Kirby on Friday told a routine news conference that it is a long-standing practice for the US to “provide a transit opportunity for the comfort of the traveler.”
There is nothing unusual and it is “really for comfort,” he said regarding Tsai’s stopovers.
Asked whether any US officials would meet with Tsai during the stopovers, Kirby said he could not speak about the details of any discussions that might take place.
Whatever discussions “that leader intends to have is really for them and their staff to speak to, not me,” he said.
When asked whether Tsai would receive a different treatment this time compared with her previous transits, Kirby declined to speak about customs and border services, but added that they are long-standing practices that the US have provided for her.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
An aircraft carrying President Tsai Ing-wen is escorted by three F16 fighter jets as Tsai embarks on a visit to the nation’s Central American allies yesterday. Screengrab from the Air Force Command Headquarters’ Facebook page
