Taiwan VP a 'troublemaker' for US visit: China

 William Lai, the vice president of Taiwan, has been dubbed a "troublemaker" by the People's Republic of China because of his recurring trips to the United States. 

On his route to Paraguay, Lai, the front-runner in Taiwan's forthcoming presidential election, made a stopover in the US to meet his US friends.

Meetings between US and Taiwanese MPs have drawn increasing criticism from China, which views Taiwan as its own province.

China accused Washington on Sunday of using Taiwan as a front for political activity. Over the weekend, Lai, a candidate for the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was in New York.

During a meeting, he spoke and vowed to defend Taiwan's sovereignty against "authoritarianism". Later this week, he will also make a stopover in San Francisco in his route back to Taiwan.

China has repeatedly condemned such actions and visits.

Lai, who has described himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence," pays a visit to the United States during a difficult time for US-China ties. The largest flashpoint between the US and China now appears to be Taiwan.

China is most likely to conduct military drills this week close to the island, according to Taiwan. Taiwanese officials fear that the visit could anger China. They said that China can use William Lai's stopovers in the United States as a reason to conduct military drills. 

The official visit of Taiwan's vice president to the landlocked South American nation of Paraguay is for the inauguration ceremony of the president. William Lai will attend Santiago Pena's inauguration as president of Paraguay on August 15. William Lai paid a visit to the United States while on his journey to the South American country. He wanted to travel to New York first and then Paraguay.

He left for his visit on Saturday. Subsequently, China slammed the United States.