US says it's leaving UN cultural agency UNESCO again, only 2 years after rejoining
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Taiwan president scraps Latin America trip amid reports the US opposed stopover in New York
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to his country's remaining allies in Latin America, amid conflicting accounts of the reason for the postponement. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favour of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Amid reports that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by the president in New York, his government said Lai had no overseas travel plans due to domestic issues, including natural disasters and tariff negotiations with the United States. However, one person with knowledge of the discussions told the Associated Press that the US 'had asked Taipei to rearrange the transit – not go through New York.' The Financial Times reported the US denied permission for Lai to stop in New York after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. The United States has traditionally facilitated transits by Taiwanese leaders, but Lai's trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. Beijing regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The cancellation has drawn concerns from experts that the White House is setting a bad precedent for US-China relations. However, embassy officials in Guatemala insisted the visit had been postponed because of the 'typhoon that caused many natural disasters' in Taiwan. A source speaking to Reuters said Lai needed to organise his government's response to extreme weather at home. Taiwan is still recovering from Typhoon Danas, which struck its densely populated west coast this month with record winds and brought widespread damage to its electricity grid and some houses. Asked about a delay, US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing no travel plans had been announced so the issue was 'hypothetical.' 'At this point, there have been no … travel plans for the president. There has been, as a result, nothing cancelled,' she said, while reiterating that US transits by high-level Taiwanese officials 'were fully consistent with our longstanding policy and practice.' Jason Hsu, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former legislator in Taiwan, said Taipei always consults with the United States on transit and called it 'abnormal' for Washington not to agree when such stopovers are permitted under the Taiwan Relations Act. He added that if the US had prevented Lai's stopover, the Trump administration would appear 'to be accommodating China's red lines.' Democrats on the house foreign affairs committee accused Trump of folding to Beijing. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is the top Democrat on the house's China committee, called it 'another example of the Trump administration caving to China in hopes of reaching a trade deal.' 'Presidents of both parties have allowed Taiwan officials to transit through the US in the past, and now should be no different,' he said in a statement. With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Taiwan president scraps Latin America trip amid reports the US opposed stopover in New York
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to his country's remaining allies in Latin America, amid conflicting accounts of the reason for the postponement. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favour of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Amid reports that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by the president in New York, his government said Lai had no overseas travel plans due to domestic issues, including natural disasters and tariff negotiations with the United States. However, one person with knowledge of the discussions told the Associated Press that the US 'had asked Taipei to rearrange the transit – not go through New York.' The Financial Times reported the US denied permission for Lai to stop in New York after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. The United States has traditionally facilitated transits by Taiwanese leaders, but Lai's trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. Beijing regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The cancellation has drawn concerns from experts that the White House is setting a bad precedent for US-China relations. However, embassy officials in Guatemala insisted the visit had been postponed because of the 'typhoon that caused many natural disasters' in Taiwan. A source speaking to Reuters said Lai needed to organise his government's response to extreme weather at home. Taiwan is still recovering from Typhoon Danas, which struck its densely populated west coast this month with record winds and brought widespread damage to its electricity grid and some houses. Asked about a delay, US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing no travel plans had been announced so the issue was 'hypothetical.' 'At this point, there have been no … travel plans for the president. There has been, as a result, nothing cancelled,' she said, while reiterating that US transits by high-level Taiwanese officials 'were fully consistent with our longstanding policy and practice.' Jason Hsu, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former legislator in Taiwan, said Taipei always consults with the United States on transit and called it 'abnormal' for Washington not to agree when such stopovers are permitted under the Taiwan Relations Act. He added that if the US had prevented Lai's stopover, the Trump administration would appear 'to be accommodating China's red lines.' Democrats on the house foreign affairs committee accused Trump of folding to Beijing. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is the top Democrat on the house's China committee, called it 'another example of the Trump administration caving to China in hopes of reaching a trade deal.' 'Presidents of both parties have allowed Taiwan officials to transit through the US in the past, and now should be no different,' he said in a statement. With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Senate Democrats brawl over Trump: ‘A lot of us...want to f***ing fight'
Senator Cory Booker insisted many in his party 'want to f***ing fight' as he savaged Democratic colleagues for accommodating Donald Trump, despite the president's threats to target blue states and districts in funding fights. The New Jersey Democrat on Tuesday accused senior members of the party of valuing bipartisanship over efforts to push back against Trump 's perceived overreaches. He and two other senators, both Democrats, attacked each other in dueling floor speeches as the chamber debated passage of two bills involving benefits for law enforcement. Booker's objection came after he said the Office of Justice Programs, which administers grants through the Justice Department, was withholding funds for programs in so-called 'sanctuary cities', like Booker's hometown of Newark. Booker clashed with Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Amy Klobuchar over an amendment that would have prevented the DOJ from blocking those funds. It also would have likely endangered the unanimous consent process, which senators were relying upon to pass the bill, given that it would likely trigger GOP opposition. Then, in comments to reporters, he slammed his fellow Democrats as 'complicit' in the Trump administration's attempts to bully blue states and districts into line. 'Literally, they were about to be complicit in the very things they say out of the other side of their mouth that they object to. Democrats need to learn to fight and fight him and stop him from hurting people,' he said. He added to The Independent: 'Today, I saw people being complicit with something that is truly undermining the Constitution, the separation of powers and the kind of things that we should be standing up [against].' Booker didn't explain why he didn't object to the bills' final passage when his amendment failed. Cortez Masto, meanwhile, maintained her anti-Trump bona fides in a separate conversation with The Independent after the vote, pointing to her work at the DSCC to flip the Senate into Democratic hands in 2020, when her party secured a narrow 50-50 majority, with ties broken by Vice President Kamala Harris. Mastro said that she was 'proven' in 'the fight against Donald Trump.' And she added: ' I chaired the DSCC. We flipped the Senate [to] control of the Democrats and pushed back on Donald Trump. 'I am not opposed to taking on the challenges of Donald Trump and bad policies. I do it all the time. The question is, why aren't most Democrats supporting law enforcement?' the senator asked. Klobuchar, in her floor speech, took aim at her New Jersey colleague for not bringing up his concerns in committee. But Booker contended to reporters later that the threats were only leveled after the legislation advanced, making Klobuchar's criticism a moot point. Booker gained notoriety on the left with a marathon floor speech earlier this year denouncing the Trump administration's second-term agenda, a speech that broke Senate records. At the same time, he, like other Democrats in the chamber, has faced derision from some in their party for the persisting air of bipartisanship that still permeates part of the chamber, particularly involving the nominations of former senator Marco Rubio to be Trump's Secretary of State. His notion that the party is sick and tired of leadership and the strategy of appeasement some Senate Democrats like Chuck Schumer have exhibited when dealing with the new Republican majority is accurate, however. A national NBC News poll in March found that just 7 percent of Democrats have a very favorable view of their party, with just a quarter having positive views overall. A second poll in May from The Center Square, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, found that three-quarters of Democrats want the party to push back against the president 'more often'.
