Baseball or diplomacy? Taiwan premier’s Japan trip draws scrutiny

Taiwanese politicians, especially those still in office, have a very unique identity internationally and often can only travel under the label of a “private visit”. When then Vice-Premier Cheng Wen‑tsan went to Japan in 2023, and when Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung did so in 2025, both publicly described their trips as “private”. Cho was no exception. On 8 March, he wrote on Facebook: “Yesterday was my day off, I paid for my trip out of my own pocket, it was a private trip.”