Voice of America
Date: August 10, 2018
By: Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwan’s president will travel to North, Central and South

FILE – Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen attends American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)’s yearly dinner event, in Taipei, Taiwan, March 21, 2018.

America this month to renew support from two of her government’s few remaining foreign allies and tighten informal ties with the United States, both steps crucial to resisting increased pressure from China.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will leave Sunday for Paraguay, the only Taiwanese ally in South America, and the tiny Central American state of Belize. She is scheduled to stop in the western U.S. cities of Los Angeles and Houston for events that some expect to showcase the strength of Taiwan-U.S. ties.

China has condemned the stopovers as it considers Taiwan part of its territory rather than a country entitled to diplomacy with Washington, which has formal ties with Beijing. Communist officials in Beijing have chipped away at Taiwan’s foreign relations since Tsai took office in 2016. They resent Tsai for declining to see her government and China’s as part of one country.    [FULL  STORY]