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full screenTaiwanese President Lai Ching-Te received flowers around her neck during her visit to Hawaii. Photo: Marco Garcia/AP/TT
Taiwan President Lai Ching-Te was welcomed with flowers, red carpet and “aloha” as he began his Pacific tour in Hawaii. That he is allowed to visit the United States is condemned by arch-rival China.
Lai Ching-Te was met by Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Police Chief Joe Logan at the Honolulu airport.
“Together we gave a warm aloha to Lai and his delegation, highlighting Hawaii’s shared values of resilience and cooperation with Taiwan,” Green said in an Instagram post.
Lai looked relaxed as he visited various museums and memorial sites in Hawaii during the first half of the two-day visit.
– Peace is priceless, and war has no winners. We must fight – fight together – to prevent war, Lai said at one of the stops.
The Hawaii visit has angered China, which seeks to claim that Taiwan is part of the mainland nation. China’s Foreign Ministry says it strongly condemns US support for the visit, and that it is monitoring the situation.
The US, like most other countries, does not recognize Taiwan, but is an important partner that supplies Taiwan with weapons.
After Hawaii, Lai Ching-Te travels on to the Pacific nations of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – three of Taiwan’s twelve diplomatic allies.