Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung spotted near AIT headquarters

Washington, Dec. 12 (CNA) Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has been spotted around the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) headquarters in Washington D.C., but the U.S. State Department declined to confirm whether he had met with officials.

Lin was spotted by Taiwanese media in the breakfast area of Hyatt Centric hotel, which is located near the AIT office, on Friday morning, but did not show up again afterward.

News of Lin's low-key visit to the AIT headquarters and stay at Hyatt Centric hotel first began circulating in Washington on Thursday.

The hotel was within a two-minute walk from the AIT headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, which is one subway station away from the U.S. State Department.

The AIT represents the United States' interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

In response to CNA's request for confirmation of Lin's visit to the greater Washington area, an anonymous State Department spokesperson said "we have nothing to confirm."

The spokesperson reiterated the longstanding U.S. policy on Taiwan and said Washington "maintains a robust unofficial relationship with Taiwan."

Meanwhile, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. said it had "no comment" on whether Lin visited Washington.

From Friday morning, the press has observed several officials of Taiwan's foreign ministry and AIT Director Raymond Greene around Hyatt Centric, the AIT headquarters and the vicinity.

In 2023, then Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Wellington Koo (顧立雄), the incumbent defense minister who served as a secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council at that time, had a meeting with the U.S. representatives at AIT's headquarters.