Taichung mayor to resume U.S. trip after typhoon

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) will resume her U.S. trip now that Typhoon Gaemi has left Taiwan, the Taichung City government said in a press statement Friday.

The city government announced that Lu will arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 10 p.m. Friday to continue her trip.

Lu -- of the opposition Kuomintang -- began the 10-day U.S. visit in the evening of July 22. However, upon landing in the U.S. on July 23, she decided to return to Taiwan to oversee typhoon response efforts, arriving back on Wednesday morning.

After her return, some city councilors from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party criticized Lu for leaving before the typhoon and accused her of staging a publicity stunt, claiming the business-class flights were a waste of public money.

In a recent media interview, Lu defended her actions, saying that both the typhoon response and the U.S. visit were official duties and urged everyone to keep focused on typhoon preparedness.