Taiwan's first lady has arrived in Washington on the second leg of a tour of the United States.

Wu Shu-chen smiled and waved at a crowd of well-wishers as she arrived on Sunday night.

Her visit is officially being billed as private in both the US and Taiwan.

Mrs Wu: Wheelchair-bound since an apparent murder attempt

But the trip is bound to anger China, which seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically as part of its efforts to force the island, which it views as a renegade province, to reunify,

Mrs Wu arrived in Washington from New York, where she made a speech at the city's National Arts Club on Taiwan's democratic development.

Referring to Taiwan's failure to secure a seat in the United Nations, she said she believed that with perseverance, Taiwan would one day achieve its goal.

The first lady will do some sightseeing in Washington on Monday before delivering another speech - to the American Enterprise Institute think-tank on Tuesday.

Mrs Wu is also to attend a reception in her honour at Congress on Wednesday.

She will then travel to Los Angeles, where she is expected to meet Chen Chin-fen, who plays for the hometown Dodgers baseball team, and is the first Taiwanese to reach the major leagues.

	1949: Chinese Nationalists flee to Taiwan as People's Republic of China declared 1979: China-US diplomatic ties established after Washington switches recognition from Taipei 2000: Chen Shui-bian elected Taiwan president. Beijing threatens to attack if island attempts to secede 2001: Taipei lifts ban on direct trade and investment with China 2002: Taiwan warns China is boosting military spending and losing patience over peaceful reunification Q&A Taiwan's relations with China

Mrs Wu has been wheelchair-bound since an apparently politically-inspired attempt on her life in 1985.

The Taiwanese Government hopes she will charm the American public as successfully as Soong Mayling, the island's last first lady to visit Washington.

Mrs Wu's visit follows a trip by the Taiwanese vice-president to Indonesia recently on holiday.

Correspondents say the first lady's trip is all part of a subtle diplomatic offensive by Taiwan and another example of the increasingly friendly relations between Taiwan and the US, the island's staunchest ally.