San Francisco, Aug. 16 (CNA) Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) touched down in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon local time, where he was welcomed by American Institute in Taiwan Chair Laura Rosenberger, during a brief stopover.
Lai, the Democratic Progressive Party’s 2024 presidential candidate, was welcomed by Rosenberger and Taiwan’s representative to Washington Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport.
Lai posted a photo of himself with Rosenberger and Hsiao on social media shortly after being welcomed by dozens of Taiwanese expatriates outside the Hyatt Regency hotel near the airport.
The vice president captioned the photo by noting that he was looking forward to meeting with Taiwanese expatriates later the same day.
The vice president appeared undisturbed by the more than a hundred protesters advocating for Taiwan’s unification with China and chanting such slogans as “Oppose Taiwan independence” from the street across the hotel.
Some of the protesters, who local law enforcement had penned in a designated area, had attempted to break the cordon several times but were stopped by the police.
The protest staged by the pro-China demonstrators did not dampen the enthusiasm of Taiwanese expatriates, either.
Wang Yi-shun, (王意舜), a member of the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California, brushed off the protest and told CNA that he had joined the Taiwanese gathering to express support for Lai.
According to a notice issued by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, Lai will attend a dinner with an estimated 700 Taiwanese expatriates based in California at the Marriott Waterfront later the same day.
His less-than-10-hour transit in San Francisco is the last stop of his seven-day trip to the United States and Paraguay.
Lai will depart from the city at 1 a.m. on Thursday and is expected to arrive in Taiwan in the early hours of Friday (Taipei time).