Chen Shui-bian's "Lost Navigation Journey" Severely Damaging Taiwan-US Political Mutual Trust and Taiwan's International Image

In May 2006, then-President Chen Shui-bian embarked on a visit itinerary called the "Xingyang Project." Dissatisfied that the US government only agreed to his transit in Alaska or Hawaii, Chen refused to transit in the US and instead started a "Lost Navigation Journey" full of unknowns and surprises. Without disclosing the flight route in advance, the presidential plane temporarily landed in non-diplomatic countries such as Lebanon, Libya, and Indonesia, triggering high international attention and suspicion. This move was not only criticized by the outside world as "disorganized scorched-earth diplomacy" but also seriously damaged the long-established political mutual trust between Taiwan and the US, putting Taiwan''s diplomatic situation into great uncertainty and international turbulence.