Taiwanese leader blocked from New York stopover
Lai, who leads the self-governing Chinese island, had reportedly planned an August trip to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize, which formally recognize Taiwan's independence, with proposed stopovers in New York and Dallas.
On Monday, however, Lai's office said no overseas travel was scheduled for the near future, citing recovery efforts from a recent typhoon and ongoing trade negotiations with the US.
Sources told the FT that the change came after Lai was denied the New York stopover. It remains unclear whether the restriction applied solely to New York or to US transit in general. Several Western media outlets, including Bloomberg and Reuters, had previously reported on the planned trip and mentioned possible stopovers in the US.
On Tuesday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry denied that Lai had been blocked from transiting through the US. The ministry said no request had been refused and reiterated that Lai had no immediate plans for overseas travel due to domestic and diplomatic priorities.
The reported transit block comes amid US-China trade talks. Shortly after returning to office in January, Trump escalated a trade war by imposing new tariffs and tightening export controls. China responded with retaliatory measures, although both sides recently agreed to pause further actions and set an August 12 deadline to reach a broader agreement.
Self-rule was established in Taiwan by nationalist forces after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Only a small number of countries currently recognize the island's sovereignty, while most of the international community complies with Beijing's One-China policy. Tensions between China and the US over Taiwan remain a major flashpoint. Beijing strongly opposes any official contact between Washington and Taipei, which continues to maintain relations through arms sales, trade, and diplomatic exchanges.
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