NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei City Mayor and Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih will embark on an eight-day visit to the United States from Sept. 14 to 21, with his itinerary spanning locations from New York, Washington D.C., and San Francisco.
Hou is expected to meet with members of the U.S. Congress and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chair Laura Rosenberger. His trip includes appearances at think tank lectures and events with Taiwanese compatriots.
The candidate's U.S. tour begins in the East and wraps up in the West. He is slated to depart for New York on the evening of Sept. 14 on China Airlines flight CI012. After visiting Washington D.C. and San Francisco, Hou will return to Taiwan on flight CI003 from San Francisco on the evening of Sept. 21. His arrival in Taipei is scheduled for the morning of Sept. 22.
While Vice President Lai Ching-te recently concluded a trip to Paraguay with U.S. stopovers in New York and San Francisco, his position as VP precludes him from visiting Washington D.C.
Through his U.S. visit, Hou aims to share his perspective on deepening Taiwan-U.S. relations and continue promoting exchanges between the two countries.
KMT legislator Chiang Chi-chen paved the way for Hou's tour in July with a U.S. visit.
Chiang visited The Heritage Foundation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he met with former AIT Chairman Richard C. Bush and the incumbent AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger, as well as expert on China-Taiwan relations, Bonnie Glaser.