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The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) issued a statement on Monday confirming several of its members were contacted by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) embassies in their respective countries to “attempt to intimidate and dissuade them” from travelling to Taiwan for the upcoming annual summit held in Taipei, Taiwan.
The statement noted that “[e]ight lawmakers in at least five countries reported receiving emails and/or phone calls from PRC diplomatic officials prior to their departure for the IPACummit in Taipei.” The IPAC “deplores and condemns” the PRC’s interference attempt. An Associated Press report from Monday confirmed politicians from Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Bosnia were among those receiving “texts, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with their plans to travel to Taipei.”
Comprised of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 democratic countries focused on relations with the PRC, IPAC is set to hold its fourth annual summit in Taipei on July 30. The attendance of 48 lawmakers from 24 countries makes this the “largest parliamentary delegation ever to visit Taiwan in an institutional capacity.” IPAC Executive Director Luke de Pulford commented on the PRC seemingly targeting legislators from smaller countries, imputing Beijing likely “feels that they can get away with it.” Ahead of the summit, directly addressing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, he affirmed, “You don’t get to decide the travel plans of foreign politicians.”
The Associated Press interviewed three lawmakers, reviewing the correspondence they received from PRC diplomats. Sanela Klarić, a member of parliament in Bosnia, revealed that a Chinese diplomat contacted the head of her party, attempting to prevent her from travelling to Taiwan for the summit. Bolivian Senator Centa Rek stated she submitted a letter of protest following a Chinese diplomat’s attempt to dissuade her from attending the summit, saying the organization hosting the meeting was “not accepted within the terms of the policy of mainland China” and claiming Taiwan was run by an “imposter president”. The diplomat further noted he would report her refusal to his embassy; Rek considered this an “unacceptable intrusion” amounting to a “veiled threat.”
China has previously imposed sanctions against countries that have recognized Taiwan independently, such as Lithuania, or supported Taiwan through arms trade. Luke de Pulford noted the pressure from Chinese officials ahead of the summit has been unprecedented, calling it “gross foreign interference.”
The IPAC statement denounces the PRC’s actions as “yet another example of their brazen efforts to curtail other nations’ democratic privileges and negate Taiwan’s rights to engage in legitimate diplomatic exchanges.”
The post Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China condemns PRC pressure over Taiwan conference appeared first on JURIST - News.
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The statement noted that “[e]ight lawmakers in at least five countries reported receiving emails and/or phone calls from PRC diplomatic officials prior to their departure for the IPAC
Comprised of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 democratic countries focused on relations with the PRC, IPAC is set to hold its fourth annual summit in Taipei on July 30. The attendance of 48 lawmakers from 24 countries makes this the “largest parliamentary delegation ever to visit Taiwan in an institutional capacity.” IPAC Executive Director Luke de Pulford commented on the PRC seemingly targeting legislators from smaller countries, imputing Beijing likely “feels that they can get away with it.” Ahead of the summit, directly addressing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, he affirmed, “You don’t get to decide the travel plans of foreign politicians.”
The Associated Press interviewed three lawmakers, reviewing the correspondence they received from PRC diplomats. Sanela Klarić, a member of parliament in Bosnia, revealed that a Chinese diplomat contacted the head of her party, attempting to prevent her from travelling to Taiwan for the summit. Bolivian Senator Centa Rek stated she submitted a letter of protest following a Chinese diplomat’s attempt to dissuade her from attending the summit, saying the organization hosting the meeting was “not accepted within the terms of the policy of mainland China” and claiming Taiwan was run by an “imposter president”. The diplomat further noted he would report her refusal to his embassy; Rek considered this an “unacceptable intrusion” amounting to a “veiled threat.”
China has previously imposed sanctions against countries that have recognized Taiwan independently, such as Lithuania, or supported Taiwan through arms trade. Luke de Pulford noted the pressure from Chinese officials ahead of the summit has been unprecedented, calling it “gross foreign interference.”
The IPAC statement denounces the PRC’s actions as “yet another example of their brazen efforts to curtail other nations’ democratic privileges and negate Taiwan’s rights to engage in legitimate diplomatic exchanges.”
The post Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China condemns PRC pressure over Taiwan conference appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.