• Staff writer, with agencies

Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) plans to visit Canada next week, two diplomatic sources said.

Tsai, whose second term ended in May, is to visit Nova Scotia and deliver a speech at the Halifax International Security Forum, which begins on Friday next week, two diplomatic sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

Tsai’s office said that if details of travel plans are confirmed, it would announce them at an appropriate time. It did not elaborate.

Neither the Halifax Forum nor Canada’s Global Affairs department had responded to requests for comment sent outside of Canadian office hours.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Canada has a difficult relationship with China, including accusations by Ottawa about Chinese hacking attacks that Beijing denies, and disputes over human rights and trade.

Tsai’s travel plans to Canada and the forum were first reported by Taiwanese media.

Tsai last month visited the Czech Republic, France and Belgium in a sensitive trip due to concerns about Chinese espionage and harassment.

President William Lai (賴清德) fully supported her European visit, calling her the “best spokesperson” for the nation on the international stage.

Under Tsai’s watch, the government greatly boosted military investment and deepened unofficial relations with major countries including the US and Japan.

Meanwhile, a national security official yesterday declined to confirm media reports that Lai was planning a trip to Taiwan’s South Pacific allies with a stopover in Hawaii as soon as late this month.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the planning of the president’s overseas visits “proceeds according to the original pace” and that “there will be no surprise.”

Any such visit would be “announced when the time is ripe,” they said.

Chinese-language media have reported that Lai was planning to visit the South Pacific late this month or early next month, and would stop over in Hawaii.

Taiwan has 12 diplomatic allies, three of which are in the South Pacific: Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

Speculation about Lai embarking on his overseas visit after taking office in May circulated intermittently for months, with the Presidential Office responding only that “any such arrangements will be reported to the public in due time.”

Despite a lack of formal diplomatic relations, Washington has allowed Taiwanese presidents to make stopovers on US soil during their trips to visit Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.

How they were received in the US was often interpreted by the media as a sign of how Washington wanted to handle its relations with Taipei.

Tsai traveled to allies in the South Pacific twice during her two four-year tenures, in 2017 and 2019.

Her 2017 trip included layovers in Honolulu, Hawaii and Guam.