President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) slammed China yesterday for using intimidation to prevent African delegates from attending the first Taiwan-Africa summit.
In his opening remarks at the Taiwan-Africa Progressive Partnership Forum, which is part of the first Taiwan-Africa Summit that began on Sunday, Chen said China had used harassing tactics to block the attendance of the delegates.
In one case, Chen said, China pressured an unnamed African country to stop two leaders of a political party from attending the summit. That country charged the pair with sedition so that they could not come to Taipei, while another pair of party leaders from a different invited country were forced to abandon their trip.
PHOTO: CNA
"As most African delegates had to transit through Paris to fly to Taiwan, the French government forced Air France to prevent them from boarding Taipei-bound flights, saying they did not have Taiwanese visas and that Air France would not recognize the visa-upon-landing document issued by Taiwan," Chen told the forum held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.
In another case, several delegates had already flown to Hong Kong, but China still succeeded in barring them from proceeding to Taipei, while others had their visas revoked, he said.
"China would not even allow these countries' non-governmental organizations [NGO] to attend the summit. In one country, an NGO representative was taken to the Chinese embassy and detained so that the delegate could not catch the flight to Taipei," Chen said.
Chen thanked the delegates from China's African allies for their "courage" in attending the Taiwan-Africa summit and for "siding with justice."
The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for International NGO Studies.
The ministry said that more than 100 guests from 40 African countries attended yesterday's forum. Among the attendees, 70 guests were from 35 countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Taipei.
There are 53 countries in Africa, five of which have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, while the remaining 48 recognize China.
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' African Affairs Department Liu Bang-zyh (劉邦治) said that the invitations were sent via the country's five embassies and two representative offices based in Africa, as well as through contacts at NGOs.
Lin Teh-chang (林德昌), director of the Center for International NGO Studies, said that about 150 invitations to the summit had been sent and that confirmations of attendance had been received from more than 144 guests.
Among the participants, more than 80 flew in from Africa, while about 20 were Africans already working or stationed in Taiwan, Lin said.
Apart from Chinese oppression, Lin said that the invited guests encountered travel difficulties ranging from a lack of e-mail access and cellphone connections to problems with airline ticketing systems.
"We didn't know whether they had made it until we picked them up at the airport," Lin said.
Participants attending yesterday's forum included government officials, legislators, representatives from the industrial and academic sectors and NGOs.
Sao Tome and Principe President Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes said he had been following the difficulties and restrictions imposed on Taiwan.
"We are here to witness the friendship between my country and the `beautiful island.' It's worth every second of our stay," he said. "We are also here for solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan. All they ask is to be recognized by the international community as a sovereign people."
De Menezes said that his country recognized China when Sao Tome and Principe declared independence in 1975 and received a lot of pressure from Beijing when the west African nation switched diplomatic recognition to Taiwan in 1997.
"I pledge my total loyalty to Taiwan," de Menezes said. "I know President Chen's mandate will soon come to an end, but let's make the best use of the time and work for the best of the two countries and their people."
Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore said that his nation is opening its doors even wider for Taiwan as Taiwanese tourists no longer need visas to visit.
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika outlined six priorities during his opening speech, encouraging Taiwanese to invest in the southern African country.
"Investment in Malawi is lucrative," he said. "We provide three times the returns you get in the United States."
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