Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te will stop over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during a trip to the Pacific, his office said Thursday, eliciting a fresh vow from China to “resolutely crush” any attempts for Taiwan independence.

China insists democratic self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island.

Lai will depart Saturday for a visit to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau — the only Pacific islands among Taiwan’s 12 remaining allies.

It will be Lai’s first overseas trip since taking office in May.

Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering Chinese leaders in Beijing.

Lai will spend two nights in Hawaii and one night in Guam, meeting with “old friends” and “think tank members”, a source in the Presidential Office told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

Communist China, which has never governed Taiwan, has sought to erase it from the international stage, blocking it from global forums and pressuring companies to list the island as a “Chinese province” on their websites.

Taiwan competes as Chinese Taipei in international sports events and Beijing bristles when Taipei officials meet with foreign politicians or government representatives.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Thursday that Lai’s planned visits were “separatist actions”.

“We have consistently opposed official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan… and any form of the US condoning and supporting Taiwan independence separatists and their separatist actions,” Mao said at a regular press conference.

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China’s defence ministry, also said “the Chinese (military) shoulders the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“(The military) will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan independence,” Wu told a news conference.

– Haemorrhaging allies –

In recent decades, Taiwan has haemorrhaged allies as they jumped ship to an ascendant China, which has deeper pockets to provide aid and investment.

The United States is Taiwan’s most important partner and main security backer but does not recognise Taipei diplomatically.

Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen transited through Hawaii and Guam during her first official visit to Pacific allies in 2017.

Tsai also met then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California in April 2023 during a Latin America trip, to which Beijing responded with military drills around the island.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have escalated since Lai took office in May.

Lai and Tsai both belong to the Democratic Progressive Party, but Lai has been more outspoken in his defence of the island’s sovereignty and Beijing calls him a “separatist”.

The dispute between Beijing and Taipei dates back to 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan.

China has refused to rule out the use of force to seize Taiwan and in recent years has ramped up military activity around the island to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty.

Though Taiwan has its own government, military and currency, it has never formally declared independence and lives under the constant threat of invasion by China.

The United States and China have long butted heads over Taiwan, an island of 23 million people, which has evolved into a vibrant democracy and powerhouse in the semiconductor industry.

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HONOLULU (KHON2) — Music lovers listen up, the free Fifth Annual Gift of Mele concert is going down this weekend at International Market Place.

“Our Gift of Mele program is actually in its fifth year,” International Market Place marketing and sponsorship director Malia Zannoni said. “The first year that it launched, it was in 2020, was the pandemic and we wanted to support local artists who hadn’t been able to perform all year. And we partnered with the amazing team at Haku Collective, to bring virtual concerts into the center and play through social media. At the end of the year, we purchased a whole bunch of music from these artists and we just gave it out for free, the Gift of Mele. The following year, concerts were back online and it perfectly aligned with the launch of Kimie’s Christmas in Hawaii album. So what better way to kind of bring those two projects together than during the holiday season?”

The goal is for the concert to be a celebration of music that cultivates culture.

“Don Ho, when you think about the nostalgia of the heart of Waikiki, we are trying to continue that tradition with a new tradition,” Miner said. “I always say we’re the way finders of a new generation, but our songs carry the echo of our kupuna. And so that’s what we’re gonna do, continue doing this Friday.”

There will be an hour and a half of music with special guests and hula dancing. The concert runs from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Friday. International Market Place recommends accessing the center from Kapahulu Avenue to avoid parade traffic. Take Kapahulu Avenue to Ala Wai Blvd and turn left onto Walina Street directly into the parking garage.

The family of missing Hawaiian photographer Hannah Kobayashi says two suspicious Venmo payments she made to a man and woman around the time she vanished are being investigated by cops.

Kobayashi, 30, made the payments on Nov. 9 — a day after she missed a connecting flight to New York and was left stranded in Los Angeles, her aunt Larie Pidgeon told the US Sun.

One sent at 6:25 p.m. was to a woman named Veronica Almendarez and had a description of a bow-and-arrow emoji.

The second payment was made less than an hour later — at 7:19 p.m. — to a man named Jonathan Taylor with the subject line “Reading,” which appeared to be for a tarot card reading, sources told the outlet.

“We have been made aware and so have the LAPD. It’s in their hands,” Pidgeon told the Sun.

“We are still focused on Downtown LA. Even though it’s been 15 [days] we still have hope,” she added.

The distraught aunt also said the family was asking people “across the nation to keep an eye in case she has been taken outside of California.”

“We are looking at all possibilities, hotels, metros, bus, train stations,” she added.

It was not immediately clear how much money Kobayashi sent either of the recipients, who have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Taylor, who has since gone private on social media, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, the Sun said.

There was no mention of Almendarez.

The LAPD would only tell the Sun that it was still investigating the missing woman’s disappearance.