(Beijing) Lawmakers from at least six countries say Chinese diplomats are pressuring them not to attend a summit in Taiwan that focuses on China, in what they describe as efforts to isolate the island.
Politicians from Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and another Asian country who requested anonymity say they are receiving text messages, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with the summit in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.
China vehemently defends its claims to Taiwan and regards the island as its own territory that it can annex by force if necessary.
The summit begins Monday and is being hosted by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies engage with Beijing. IPAC has long faced pressure from the Chinese government: some members have been sanctioned by Beijing, and in 2021 the group was targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, according to a U.S. indictment unsealed earlier this year.
Luke de Pulford, the alliance’s director, says the pressure from Chinese officials in recent days has been unprecedented. At previous IPAC meetings elsewhere, lawmakers have only been contacted by Chinese diplomats after they had concluded. This year, with the annual summit taking place in Taiwan for the first time, there appears to be a coordinated effort to prevent participants from attending.
Emails from China
The Associated Press spoke with three lawmakers and reviewed texts and emails from Chinese diplomats asking them whether they would consider attending the summit.
“My name is Wu, from the Chinese Embassy,” reads a message sent to Antonio Miloshoski, a member of parliament in North Macedonia. “We heard that you received an invitation from IPAC, will you attend the conference in Taiwan next week?”
In some cases, lawmakers described vague demands from China about their travel plans to Taiwan. In other cases, the message was more threatening: One lawmaker told the AP that Chinese diplomats had sent a message to his party leader asking him to block him from going.
“They contacted the chairman of my political party and asked him to stop me from going to Taiwan,” said Bosnian MP Sanela Klaric. “They are trying to stop me from traveling in my country.” […] This is really not acceptable.”
China regularly threatens retaliation against politicians and countries that show support for Taiwan, which maintains only informal relations with most countries due to Chinese diplomatic pressure.me Klaric said the pressure was unpleasant, but only strengthened his determination to go on top.
“I really fight against countries or societies where the tool to manipulate and control people is fear,” Mr.me Klaric, adding that it reminds her of the threats and intimidation she faced while suffering through the wars in Bosnia in the 1990s. “I really hate the feeling when someone scares you.”
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PHOTO ANN WANG, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Soldiers participate in the 2024 National Defense Mobilization, Disaster Prevention and Rescue Exercise in New Taipei City, Taiwan, July 23, 2024.
Mr De Pulford called the pressure “blatant foreign interference”.
“How would officials in the People’s Republic of China feel if we tried to talk to them about their travel plans, where they can and cannot go?” Mr de Pulford asked. “It is absolutely outrageous that they think they can interfere in the travel plans of foreign lawmakers.”
Lawmakers from 25 countries are expected to attend this year’s summit and hold high-level meetings with Taiwanese officials, according to a news release. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Beijing criticized Taiwan for its annual military exercises dubbed “Han Kuang,” saying Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party was “carrying out provocations to seek independence.”
PHOTO ANN WANG, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Beijing has criticized Taiwan for its annual military exercises dubbed “Han Kuang,” saying Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party was “carrying out provocations to seek independence.”
“Any attempt to stir up tensions and use force to seek independence or reject reunification is doomed to failure,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters.
China has split from the island’s diplomatic allies in a long-running competition between the two countries that has tilted in Beijing’s favor in recent years. The Pacific island nation of Nauru switched its recognition to Beijing earlier this year, a move that reduced Taiwan’s dwindling number of diplomatic allies to 12.
Associated Press video journalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report from Taipei, Taiwan.