A former senior US official with links to Donald Trump's transition team flew to Taipei Tuesday, sparking more speculation over relations with Taiwan after the president-elect's unprecedented call with the island's leader.
Stephen Yates, once a deputy national security advisor to former US vice president Dick Cheney, told journalists he was making a long-planned personal trip but did not rule out meetings with senior Taiwanese officials.
Tsai's call to Trump on Friday was the first between a Taiwanese leader and an incoming or serving US president since Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
Smashing established protocol, it prompted a protest from China -- which sees Taiwan as part of its territory -- and questions over Trump's diplomatic strategy.
Yates, who was named as the facilitator of the call in news reports but denied he set it up, told a packed press conference in Taipei that "we have very significant challenges" if Beijing "could be provoked to conflict of some kind based on a phone call".
Local media reported Yates was set to meet Tsai but her office said it was not aware of any appointment.
Read the full story at SinoDaily