Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te had reportedly hoped to travel through New York and Dallas next month on his way to visit diplomatic allies in Latin America—stops that would have surely ruffled China. The Financial Times reports the entire trip has been scrapped after sources say the Trump administration requested that he ax the New York stop—an ask allegedly made as Washington tries to keep its relationship with Beijing calm as it navigates sensitive trade talks and eyes a possible Trump-Xi summit.
The New York Times notes that Lai's office hadn't publicly confirmed the trip to begin with, but three Taiwanese officials told the paper of his planned route; the Financial Times cites three sources of its own. A rep for Lai on Monday said Lai was focusing on the aftermath of a typhoon and tariff negotiations with the US, not travel, and that reports of the US blocking his plans were "inaccurate" and "purely speculative."
But the AP echoes the reports, saying one source told it the US "had asked Taipei to rearrange the transit—not go through New York." As the AP puts it, "Whatever the reason, the cancelation is certain to hand a major diplomatic victory to Beijing and has drawn concerns from experts that the White House is setting a bad precedent for US-China relations."
story continues below
The Trump administration's stance appears to diverge from earlier policies, as previous Taiwanese presidents had routinely transited through the US, including his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen's high-profile visits during the Biden years. The episode comes at a challenging moment for Lai, who recently failed to unseat opposition lawmakers in a major recall effort last weekend and, like many other countries, faces a Friday trade deadline with the US.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
