Taiwan opposition candidate visits US to cement ties

TAIWAN: Taiwan’s opposition presidential candidate flew to the United States on Monday in a trip aimed at paving the way for further ties with Washington if her party retakes power next year. “The purpose of the trip is to discuss with the US authorities bilateral ties and a wide range of other issues and set up communication channels,” Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told reporters before jetting off.

Tsai, who would become Taiwan’s first female president if she wins the January election against incumbent Ma Ying-jeou, said her goal was to ensure that “Taiwan-US ties will be cemented after the DPP regains power next year”.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but has remained a key ally of Taiwan and a leading arms supplier to the island. Under the previous president Chen Shui-bian, of the DPP, ties with China were uneasy as the party pushed for formal independence for the island.

The highly sensitive issue also frayed relations with the United States.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification — by force if necessary. During her week-long visit, Tsai will address a think-tank and Harvard University as well as meet US lawmakers and her party’s supporters at Taiwanese communities in the US.

Tsai was Taiwan’s top China policymaker in the former DPP government that ruled from 2000 to 2008 and she has frequently criticised Ma’s Kuomintang administration for being too pro-Beijing.

Taipei, Monday, AFP