Palauan President Surangel Whipps, Jr. has invited Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te to visit Palau. Whipps’ invitation came during a video address at an academic conference hosted by Taipei’s Shin Kong Hospital.
Vice President Lai says that he would be more than happy to visit Palau. He says he would bring Taiwan’s Olympic athletes to accompany him if he were to go.
Taiwan and Palau have a “travel bubble” arrangement, under which people traveling between the two countries can enjoy relaxed quarantine restrictions.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office says that it is grateful for Whipps’ invitation. It says that it will arrange a visit for Lai if it can find a suitable time to do so.
However, the Presidential Office says that its focus is still on the epidemic, and that maintaining national security in the face of COVID-19 is still its top priority.