Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen may stop in U.S. en route from Latin America

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is scheduled to make state visits to Central American countries in January, but she may also make stopovers in two U.S. cities, according to a Taiwanese press report.

Tsai, whose recent phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was criticized in Beijing, is to travel to Latin America via Houston, Texas, Taiwanese news source ET Today reported Wednesday.

On the return trip, Tsai is to make a stopover in San Francisco, according to an anonymous source in Taipei.

The Taiwanese government typically discloses information on overseas stopovers, but as tensions have escalated with Beijing, the presidential office broke with protocol and elected to withhold the information.

Tsai's office had said more "details on waypoints would be announced at a later date," perhaps as a cautionary measure to prevent further diplomatic conflict.

In a separate statement Taiwan's Foreign Minister David Tawei Lee had said Tsai would not be passing through New York, where Trump and his transition team have received Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and international businesspeople.

Taipei's foreign ministry told reporters Thursday the plans for Tsai's travels are "going very smoothly" and said "specific details including U.S. stopovers will be announced soon."

Tsai is traveling to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In Nicaragua, Tsai is expected to be attending the inauguration ceremony of President Daniel Ortega, who was re-elected in 2016.

All four countries maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei.