Taiwan: President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in the United States before a visit to Latin America

President Tsai Ing-wen at Taoyuan International Airport on March 29, 2023. AFP - SAM YEH

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1 min

The Taiwanese president flies to New York on Wednesday, March 29, before joining Belize and Guatemala. Tsai Ing-wen gives herself ten days to fulfill two perilous objectives. First, convince the Central American countries that have recognized Taiwan's existence that they have made the right choice and that they must not give in to Chinese pressure. Then, to stage the support of the United States to the Taiwanese cause.

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The president's trip is such a sensitive subject in China that we should not speak of a "visit to the United States". According to official terminology, Tsai Ing-wen is content to "stop" in New York on the outward journey and in California on the way back.

As for the meeting that everyone has been talking about for weeks, this famous tête-à-tête between the Taiwanese president and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican boss of the House of Representatives, which could be held around April 5 in the suburbs of Los Angeles, it will, if confirmed, provoke an immediate and muscular reaction from the Chinese authorities in the Taiwan Strait.

But on the road to Tsai Ing-wen, there is also Central America. Because little by little, like Honduras a few days ago, like Costa Rica in 2017, El Salvador in 2018 and Nicaragua in 2021, the countries of the region that had recognized the sovereign existence of Taiwan are relinquishing in favor of China.

Only Belize and Guatemala remain in Tsai Ing-wen's squad, two countries she will visit and cajole to reaffirm her local roots and show that pressure from Beijing does not intimidate her.

► Read also: China: rare visit of a former Taiwanese president in a delicate context

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Taiwan
  • United States
  • Tsai Ing-wen
  • China
  • Diplomacy