Typhoon forces Taiwanese president to stop in Bali

Typhoon forces Taiwanese president to stop in Bali

Agencies, Taipei/Jakarta

A typhoon lashing Taiwan forced President Chen Shui-bian to make
an unscheduled stop in Bali on Sunday, on his way home from a
trip to Central America and the United Arab Emirates, the foreign
ministry said.

Chen, who angered rival China on Saturday by making an
unannounced stop in Beijing's Emirates ally, had been scheduled
to return home early on Sunday but was forced to re-route as
Typhoon Longwang pounded Taiwan with strong winds and torrential
rains.

"The president will stay in the Bali hotel until the weather
here turns for the better," the ministry said in a statement. The
Indonesian island was meanwhile dealing with its latest series of
deadly bombings which killed 26 people on Saturday night.

Taiwan's airports were closed on Sunday morning, with
international flights expected to resume in the afternoon.

China's Foreign Ministry said it had made clear its position
to Indonesia on Chen's stopover in Bali, the official Xinhua news
agency reported.

"The Indonesian side said it will appropriately handle the
matter in strict adherence to the one-China policy," Xinhua
quoted foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan as saying.

"President Chen Shui-bian is in Bali for a brief stopover due
to a technical reason," Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman
Marty Natalegawa told AFP. He declined further comment.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also in Bali
Sunday to visit the scene of the bombings. He is scheduled to
meet Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong there for bilateral
consultations on Monday.

However, the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) in
Indonesia said that Chen had already been in Bali due to the
typhoon, and not on official visit.

"It was a coincidence because of the typhoon. Our president
already departed from Bali at 6 p.m.," the director of TETO's
information division, Pong Chang, told The Jakarta Post on
Sunday.

Taipei voiced its gratitude to Jakarta for its assistance in
helping arrange the diverted flight. Indonesia does not recognize
Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory awaiting
reunification by force if necessary.

Chen arrived in the UAE on Friday for a "transit visit" on his
way home from a tour of Taipei's five diplomatic allies in
Central America, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.

Local media hailed the UAE visit as a diplomatic breakthrough.
But China reacted strongly, saying it had had a negative impact
on relations with the UAE.

China's Foreign Ministry had said Chen's transit in the UAE on
Saturday, on his way back from South America, had violated the
one-China policy and would have a negative impact on Beijing's
relations with Abu Dhabi.

Chen had been expected to meet UAE President Sheikh Khalifa
bin Zayed al-Nahayan to discuss a range of issues spanning from
military and oil to trade and tourism, according to news reports.

China, which sees Taiwan as a wayward province and has
threatened war if it pushes for formal statehood, disapproves of
overseas visits by Taiwan leaders and views any country that
plays host to Chen as encouraging his vision of independence.

During his current trip, Chen made a transit in Miami in the
United States, which recognizes China but is Taiwan's biggest
arms supplier.

Only 26 states recognise Taiwan, most of them small and poor
countries. Taipei and Beijing accuse each other of buying allies
with soft loans, so-called dollar diplomacy, with China gaining
an upper hand over the years thanks to its much larger economy.