Taiwan opposition leader embarks on U.S. trip

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(Kyodo) _ The head of Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) on Sunday embarked on a 10-day trip to the United States. "I will faithfully convey Taiwanese people's true voice to the U.S. and let them know what the issues that people really care about are," Ma Ying-jeou, who is also mayor of Taipei, told a rally launched by the smaller People First Party before heading to the airport. News reports said that U.S. officials are expected to discuss with Ma a special budget to buy advanced U.S. weapons. Opposition lawmakers have repeatedly blocked passage of the arms package aimed at fending off China, citing budgetary concerns. The trip also follows a diplomatic storm between Taipei and Washington triggered by independence-leaning President Chen Shui-bian's controversial plan to abolish a symbolic committee tasked with studying eventual unification with the mainland. The U.S. government has urged Chen to unambiguously reaffirm his pledges not to alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait during his term. Local media has speculated that the U.S. government may vent its displeasure with Chen by offering a high-level reception to Ma, the KMT's presidential hopeful in 2008. ADVERTISEMENT In New York, he will attend a panel discussion with the Council on Foreign Relations, a prestigious think tank, and meet with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and overseas Chinese representatives. He will visit Boston on Tuesday to deliver a speech at Harvard University, where he earned a doctorate in law, and fly on to Washington on Wednesday, where he is scheduled to address the National Press Club as well as meet with local politicians, according to the party. His trip will also take him to San Francisco and Los Angeles.