The chairman of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), Eric Chu (???), is planning to visit the United States early next year, KMT Department of International Affairs head Alexander Huang (???) said Tuesday.
At a press conference, Huang confirmed that the party chairman will embark on a U.S. tour that will likely take place after the Jan. 29-Feb. 6 Lunar New Year holiday and include stops at Washington, D.C. and other cities on the West and East coasts.
Chu is planning to meet with U.S. government officials and lawmakers, as well as think tank representatives in order to communicate the KMT's position on various issues, Huang said without elaborating.
The chairman does not rule out the possibility of visiting Japan, Huang said, noting that the party values its relationship with Japan and is keen to interact with Japanese lawmakers and politicians.
In addition, the KMT's deputy chairmen and other party leaders also have plans to visit the U.S. as part of efforts to expand the party's cooperation with the U.S. in areas such as technology, economic issues, and national security.
Local media had earlier reported that Chu might visit Washington, D.C. to take part in the planned reopening of the KMT liaison office in the U.S.
Although Huang did not confirm the report, he said the liaison office would begin operations also after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The KMT closed its U.S. office shortly after Ma Ying-jeou (???) took office as Taiwan's president in 2008.
Even after 2016, when the KMT lost the presidency to the Democratic Progressive Party, it never assigned any representatives of the party to the U.S. until Chu assumed the role of the KMT chairman in October this year.
To reconstruct the window on the party's interactions with the U.S., the KMT sent its deputy director of international affairs Eric Huang (???) to that country on Nov. 30 to help reopen the liaison office.
Speaking virtually at Tuesday's press event, Eric Huang said the preparation work had been "on schedule" thanks to the support from the U.S. administration and overseas KMT members and supporters.
There have been a lot of discussions about Taiwan among American officials, lawmakers, and scholars, and they are interested in learning about the views of Taiwan's opposition, Huang said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel