Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will stop over in New York and San Francisco on his way to and from Paraguay as part of his seven-day trip, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) said in Taipei on Wednesday.
Lai, who is also the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s 2024 presidential candidate, will leave Taiwan on Aug. 12 and arrive the same day in New York, where he will stay overnight and then head to Paraguay on the morning of Aug. 13 (NY time), Yui said.
According to Yui, the vice president will touch down in San Francisco on the night of Aug. 15 (SF time) on his return leg from South America and stay overnight before leaving the next morning.
Yui did not provide any details on the people Lai will meet with during his stops in the two U.S. cities, saying that Lai’s itinerary was still being finalized.
He also sidestepped questions on whether Washington asked the vice president to keep his public engagements in the U.S. behind closed doors, saying only that Lai was traveling as “the president’s envoy.”
There have been rumors that Lai was planning to make stopovers in Washington, D.C. or in neighboring Arlington in Virginia, but Yui said the speculation was “not true.”
While the U.S. government has over the years allowed Taiwanese presidents and vice presidents to make stopovers on American soil on their way to Latin American and Caribbean allies, these stops have typically been restricted to the east and west coasts of the U.S.
In addition to making stops in the U.S., Lai will land in Paraguay on the night of Aug. 13 and attend the inauguration of Paraguay President-elect Santiago Peña the next day, according to Yui.
During his stay in Asunción until the night of Aug. 15, Lai will also meet separately with Peña and outgoing President Mario Abdo Benítez, and attend a dinner with Taiwanese expatriates in Paraguay as well as those from neighboring countries, Yui said.
The vice president will return to Taiwan early on Aug. 18, he said.
Source: Presidential Office
