Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has begun a two-day visit to Hawaii, marking his first stop on a weeklong tour of Pacific islands intended to strengthen diplomatic ties. During his visit, he engaged with Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, and members of Congress amid rising tensions with China, which has expressed strong opposition to this meeting.
On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced its disapproval of the United States’ backing of Lai’s trip and formally lodged a complaint. Additionally, Beijing criticized a newly authorized U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, an autonomous territory that China asserts claims over as its own. The Ministry warned that it would closely monitor the situation and take necessary actions to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Lai’s itinerary includes visits to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau, which maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. During his stay in Hawaii, Governor Green welcomed Lai at the state’s emergency management agency, highlighting discussions on disaster preparedness. Having a background in healthcare, Green noted on social media how both leaders shared insights from their medical experiences that influence their governance. Lai, also trained in medicine, holds a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard.
In his post, Green expressed a warm welcome to Lai and his delegation, emphasizing the shared values between Hawaii and Taiwan, specifically resilience and collaboration. Apart from official meetings, Lai toured the Bishop Museum, renowned for its natural history and preservation of Native Hawaiian culture. In the evening, he attended a banquet with representatives of the Taiwanese American community, where U.S. Representative Ed Case remarked on the enduring connections between the U.S. and Taiwan based on shared values and objectives.
The details of whether Lai would meet any senior officials from the Biden administration or the incoming Trump administration during his visit remain uncertain. President-elect Trump previously asserted in an interview that Taiwan should finance its own defense. Over the years, Taiwan has procured significant military hardware from the U.S.
The U.S. State Department’s recent arms package includes $385 million allocated for F-16 spare parts along with tactical communication system support for Taiwan. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is committed to aiding Taiwan’s self-defense, yet it maintains a strategy of ambiguity regarding its potential involvement in case of a Chinese invasion.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen experienced a similar backlash from China during her transit in New York last year on her way to Latin America when she met with then-Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. Following Lai’s previous visit to the U.S. as vice president, the Chinese military undertook drills around Taiwan, interpreting such actions as a response to what they termed collusion between “separatists and foreign forces.” China remains vocal against visits by American politicians to Taiwan, interpreting these as challenges to its claims of sovereignty over the island—a stance that has remained since the U.S. recognized Beijing over Taipei in 1979.
