Taiwan’s Lai Gets ‘Red Carpet Treatment’ At US Stop On Pacific Trip, China Condemns ‘Arrangement’

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te arrived Saturday in Hawaii to begin a two-day transit in the US as part of a trip to the South Pacific, his first since assuming office.He was greeted at a Honolulu hotel by cheering supporters who put festive leis around his neck.The stopover in Hawaii and one planned for the territory of Guam have drawn fierce criticism from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and objects to official exchanges between it and the U.S., the island’s biggest backer and military provider.Lai left on a weeklong trip to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau — three diplomatic allies of the self-governed island in the Pacific.It is unclear whether Lai will meet with any members of the incoming Trump administration. n18oc_world n18oc_crux