Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun has little to show from a two-week trip to the United States, the most concrete sign yet that Taiwan’s chief security partner remains wary of her contentious, China-friendly policy positions.
Cheng, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, told reporters upon her return to Taipei last week that her trip “exceeded expectations.” But the reception she received from the White House suggests otherwise. The U.S. National Security Council canceled a planned meeting with her at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building without explanation, according to Taiwanese media.
Cheng instead met with a mid-level U.S. State Department staffer at the headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as the primary liaison office between the U.S. government and Taiwan’s de facto U.S. Embassy. In a highly unusual move, Cheng did not meet with Ingrid Larson, the managing director of AIT’s Washington office. Larson met with both Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang when they visited Washington in March.
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