Taiwan's vice president-elect is on a 'personal trip' to US, says source

Taiwan's vice president-elect, Hsiao Bi-khim, is in the United States this week for a low-profile private visit, a senior Taiwan official briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. The trip was first reported by several Taiwan media outlets and The Wall Street Journal, which said Hsaio is in Washington, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Taiwan's vice president-elect, Hsiao Bi-khim, is in the United States this week for a low-profile private visit, a senior Taiwan official briefed on the matter said on Tuesday.

The trip was first reported by several Taiwan media outlets and The Wall Street Journal, which said Hsaio is in Washington, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Taiwan official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters Hsiao arrived in the United States this week and will spend the next few days there on a "personal trip" that includes packing up her personal belongings. The official declined to elaborate.

Taiwan's presidential office said there was no information available at the moment on the matter. Hsiao's ruling Democratic Progressive Party also said it had no information to provide on the report.

Hsiao, 52, has been Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States since 2020 until last year before she joined the presidential race. She is fluent English speaker with deep connections in Washington. Diplomatic sources have told Reuters that Hsiao can act as a key go-between for Taipei and Washington, the island's most important arms seller and international backer despite the absence of formal ties.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite Taiwan's objections, and was angered by prior visits to the United States by Taiwan's president and vice president.