Beijing’s insistence that its so-called “one China principle” is a prerequisite for Taiwan’s participation in APEC activities is a serious violation of the organization’s norms and practices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The ministry reiterated that Taiwan, as an official member of APEC, shares equal participation rights with other member economies.
The APEC grouping is one of the few international bodies Taiwan is a member of, although it takes part as “Chinese Taipei” to avoid political problems and its president never attends.
Photo: Reuters
Next year’s summit is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen, China, in November.
On Saturday, MOFA official Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said in South Korea at the end of this year’s summit that China had provided written assurances last year about the safety of all participants at next year’s summit.
In a written statement to Reuters, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were no worries.
“As the host of APEC in 2026, China will fulfil its host-country obligations in accordance with APEC rules and customary practice, and there will be no issue with all parties participating smoothly,” it said.
“We would like to emphasize that the key to Chinese Taipei’s participation in APEC activities lies in compliance with the ‘one China’ principle and the relevant APEC memorandum of understanding, rather than any safety issues,” it said.
Speaking in Taipei on Monday after returning from South Korea, Sun said Taiwan had already asked China last year whether it would receive “equal treatment” and expressed concerns about its people’s safety.
Other “like-minded partners” had similar worries, he added.
“We hope everyone can urge the Chinese side to fulfil their promises to ensure to safety of all the participants and equal participation of the economies, not only Taiwan,” he said.
“At the joint request of our country and like-minded nations, China explicitly guaranteed in writing last year that it would ensure the personal safety of all economic participants and facilitate their smooth entry and exit to attend meetings in China,” MOFA said in a statement yesterday.
The joint statement from the bilateral ministerial meetings last year and this year clearly included the statement that “all economies should have equal participation in all APEC meetings, including the leaders’ meetings,” it said.
Taiwan “sternly demands that the Chinese side must honor its commitments and, in accordance with APEC rules and practices, ensure Taiwan’s equal, dignified and safe participation in all APEC meetings and activities held in China next year,” MOFA said.
“It must safeguard the personal safety of our delegates,” it added. “We will not accept any political maneuver aimed at diminishing or excluding Taiwan’s participation, and we will resolutely counter such actions in cooperation with like-minded partners.”
The last time China hosted an APEC summit, in 2014, relations with Taiwan were much better under then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who signed landmark trade and tourism deals with Beijing.
However, in 2001, Taiwan boycotted the APEC summit in China after a disagreement over who it could send.
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