Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian left the U.S. early January 9 after a short but stormy visit that angered Chinese officials and spawned a raucous protest by some Taiwanese-Americans.
Chen left San Francisco for Nicaragua to attend the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega. Just seven months earlier, the U.S. had denied a request for a stop in San Francisco, apparently because of displeasure over his policies toward rival China.
Protesters gathered across the street from his downtown hotel calling for his impeachment over a corruption scandal. (Source: Marcus Wohlsen, AP, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan 9, 2007).