Taipei and Washington say such stopovers are routine and no cause for China to take "provocative" actions, but Beijing has reacted with anger at what it sees as a further sign of US support for Taiwan, which it claims as sovereign Chinese territory.Ĭhina is likely to launch military drills next week near Taiwan, using Lai's stopovers in the United States as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of a next year's election and make them "fear war", Taiwanese officials say.īeijing particularly dislikes Lai, who has in the past described himself as a "practical worker for Taiwan independence". Lai, the front-runner to become Taiwan's president in elections in January, is officially making only transit stops in the United States on his way to and from Paraguay for the swearing in of its president. Taiwan Vice President William Lai leaves on Saturday for a sensitive trip to the United States, which China has condemned and Taiwanese officials fear could prompt more Chinese military activity around the democratically governed island.
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