Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou greeted hundreds of flag-waving
supporters in Los Angeles’ Chinatown on Tuesday, an unusual public
appearance on American soil that was a sign of the island’s improving
relationship with China.
Ma was on his way home
after visiting Sao Tome and Principe, Burkina Faso and Honduras – three
of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies. The U.S. State Department termed the visit a “transit” that is “consistent with the unofficial nature of our relations with Taiwan.”
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“It shows there’s a great deal of confidence between Taipei and
Washington that Ma will stay within the ground rules of not making a
huge political splash during his transit,” Alan D. Romberg, director of
the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, said of Ma’s Chinatown
appearance.
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