Pompeo to make 2nd trip to Taiwan next week

Kaohsiung, Sept. 22 (CNA) Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit Taiwan next week for the second time, primarily to attend a business forum in Kaohsiung, according to the organizer.

Pompeo has been invited to deliver a speech on Sept. 27 at the first Global Taiwan Business Forum in Kaohsiung, according to the Liberty Times newspaper, which is hosting the event.

At the forum, Pompeo will speak on the topic "Seeing Taiwan's post-COVID-19 pandemic business opportunities from the perspective of international economic and trade trends," the newspaper said.

Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) is also expected to give an address at the forum, the Liberty Times said.

Pompeo is expected to arrive in the southern Taiwan city on Sept. 26, and he will have a private breakfast meeting with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) the next morning, according to sources.

While in Taiwan, Pompeo is also scheduled to deliver the opening address at the annual meeting of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce on Sept. 28, and he will visit some high-tech companies in the south of the country, according to the Liberty Times.

Asked about the trip, Chen said Thursday in a joint media interview that the Kaohsiung City Government will be pleased to host Pompeo, who will be making his second visit to Taiwan.

Chen declined to give any detailed information about Pompeo's itinerary in Kaohsiung, however, saying that should be left to the organizer.

The former U.S. secretary of state first visited Taiwan in March, accompanied by his wife Susan Pompeo, his former adviser on China policy Miles Yu (余茂春), and nine other people, on a four-day trip.

Before U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made her trip to Taiwan Aug. 2-3, Pompeo expressed support for such a visit and said he would be willing to travel with her, at a time when it was unclear whether she would go through with her travel plans, amid pressure from China.

"Nancy, I'll go with you," Pompeo wrote on Twitter at the time. "See you there!"

More than 300 Taiwanese businesspeople from around the world and business leaders based in Taiwan are expected to attend the Global Taiwan Business Forum in Kaohsiung.