# Transit diplomacy

Transit diplomacy (Chinese: 過境外交), or stopover diplomacy, is a foreign policy approach in the context of Taiwan–United States relations wherein Taiwanese leaders make a stop in the United States during a tour or visit to Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies. Since United States severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1979, the Taiwanese government has not been able to formally conduct diplomatic exchanges with the U.S. Presidents or vice presidents have since made "stopovers" in the U.S. as part of broader visits to diplomatic allies in order to meet with U.S. officials.

## Background

In 1979, the United States recognized the PRC and severed ties with the Taiwanese government, ending official contacts between Taiwan and the U.S.
In 1994, Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui was on a trip to Costa Rica and requested a brief stopover in Hawaii. The Clinton administration permitted his flight to be refueled but refused to let him enter Honolulu to spend a night. Additionally, the reception for Lee was going to take place in a small dingy room in Hickam Air Force Base. This angered Lee, and in protest, he refused to disembark the plane. When the U.S. representative boarded the plane to greet him, Lee was in his sweater and slippers. Lee refused to meet the representative at the door, as he stated sarcastically, "I might slip and enter America."
In 1995, after president Lee Teng-hui visited his alma mater Cornell University, the PRC government broke off semiofficial contacts and escalated military tensions, initiating the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.
Although the transits are "unofficial" in nature, they offer opportunities for Taiwanese presidents or vice presidents to have phone calls with high-level U.S. officials, or hold private clandestine meetings with officials.

## List of transits

| Date | President | Location | Countries visited | Details |
| 1997 | Lee Teng-hui | Hawaii | Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay | Meeting with former Hawaii governor George Ariyoshi and AIT chairman Richard C. Bush |
| 2000 | Chen Shui-bian | Los Angeles | | Meeting with House Representative Dana Rohrabacher |
| 2005 | Chen Shui-bian | Miami | Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| 2007 | Chen Shui-bian | Anchorage, Alaska | Honduras | |
| 2014 | Ma Ying-jeou | Los Angeles | São Tomé and Príncipe, Burkina Faso, Honduras | |
| 2016 | Tsai Ing-wen | Miami, Los Angeles | Panama, Paraguay | |
| 2017 | Tsai Ing-wen | Houston, San Francisco | Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador | Meeting with Texas senator Ted Cruz and governor Greg Abbott |
| 2017 | Tsai Ing-wen | Honolulu, Guam | Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands | Visit to USS Arizona Memorial and meeting with Guam governor Eddie Baza Calvo |
| 2019 | Tsai Ing-wen | Hawaii | Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands | |
| 2019 | Tsai Ing-wen | New York City, Denver | Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia | Meeting with Colorado governor Jared Pollis and visit to National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) |
| 2023 | Tsai Ing-wen | New York City, Simi Valley | Guatemala, Belize | Meetings with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in New York and Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Simi Valley |
| 2024 | Lai Ching-te | Guam, Hawaii | Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Palau | Meeting with Hawaii governor Josh Green |