Taiwan President Heads to Caribbean With US Stops, Angering Beijing

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends a ceremony to sign up for Democratic Progressive Party's 2020 presidential candidate nomination in Taipei, Taiwan on March 21, 2019. Tyrone Siu/Reuters

TAOYUAN, Taiwan—Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen left for the United States on July 11 on a trip that has angered Beijing, warning democracy must be defended and the island faced threats from “overseas forces,” in a veiled reference to China.

China, which claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its own and views it as a wayward province, has called on the United States not to allow Tsai to transit there on her overseas tour.