Lai has no plans to go on overseas visit: Presidential Office

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has no plans to make an overseas visit in the near future, a spokesperson for Lai said Monday, after local and foreign media had reported in mid-July he would visit Paraguay in August with stops in the United States.

"In consideration of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in southern Taiwan following a recent typhoon and regional developments including the United States' tariffs, the president currently has no plans to go on an overseas visit," Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement.

As usual, once the itinerary of an overseas visit by the president is finalized, the office will notify the media, Kuo said in response to recent media queries about plans to alter or cancel overseas visits by Lai.

An AFP report on July 14 cited Paraguay President Santiago Pena as saying at an investment forum that day that Lai will visit his country "in 30 days."

At the time Pena made the comment, he was hosting a delegation comprising around 30 business leaders and Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in Asuncion, according to the report.

Bloomberg News reported two days later that Lai was planning to stop in New York on Aug. 4 and then Dallas 10 days later as part of a trip to diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize.

A Bloomberg report on Monday, however, said planning for the trip was thrown into flux late last week when Taiwan could not get the U.S. to give the green light, with the Trump administration concerned it could derail trade talks with China, according to anonymous sources.

In response, Bloomberg quoted Presidential Office spokesperson Lii Wen (李問) as saying those claims were "pure speculation based on incorrect information."