President Ma Ying-jeou is in the US city of Houston for a transit stop on his way to Central America. It’s his final international trip before he steps down on May 20.
The president spoke on Sunday night (local time) about how the US had offered him the highest level of courtesy during his passage through Houston. His remarks came in light of speculation that the US had downgraded their level of courtesy after Ma visited the disputed Taiping Island earlier this year.
Foreign Minister David Lin also said that the US had immediately agreed to the foreign ministry’s proposed itinerary for Ma’s transit stops.
Earlier on Sunday, President Ma visited a plant run by Formosa Plastics Group, the largest Taiwanese company operating in the US. He was accompanied by Raymond Burghardt, who is the Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. That’s the top US body in charge of ties with Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic relations.
The foreign minister said that in recent years the US has been pushing for greater trade ties with Taiwan. He said that Formosa Plastics’ investments in the US had produced results.
President Ma’s trip will take him next to Belize and Guatemala, before returning to Taiwan via Los Angeles.