Taiwan leader in Houston, en route to Central America

Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech before traveling to visit Central American allies

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has arrived in Houston for a brief transit stop in the U.S. during her trip to Central America.

Dozens of supporters stood outside in near freezing temperatures as Tsai arrived at a Houston hotel Saturday morning. She shook some hands and posed for selfie photos. She did not address media kept some distance away.

An official with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team said earlier Saturday neither Trump nor transition officials would be meeting with her.

Tsai is passing through Houston on a trip she says is intended to bolster Taiwan’s international profile by reinforcing ties with diplomatic allies in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. China has been angered by her refusal to endorse Beijing’s concept that Taiwan and the mainland are a single Chinese nation.

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