The US would ensure Taiwan can participate in a "full" and "equal" way in next year's APEC events to be held in China, a senior US Department of State official said yesterday.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Reuters on Tuesday when asked about Taiwan's participation that Beijing would fulfill its obligations as the host, but that Taiwan should comply with the "one China" principle, which raised fears that Taipei's participation could be limited.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Wednesday described the stance as an "additional condition" being placed on its APEC participation.
The US has offered its backing in the controversy.
"A really important feature of APEC is the fact that Taiwan is a full and equal participant and partner, and the United States supports that," Casey Mace, a department senior official to APEC, said in a briefing on this year's APEC events held in Gyeongju, South Korea.
"When the 21 economies of APEC endorsed China as the host for 2026, it sought assurances from China that that it would follow all standing practices and policies regarding participation, and so we expect that that they will live up to that certainly," Mace said.
China is to host next year's APEC meeting in Shenzhen.
Mace said the US would continue to talk to its Taiwanese friends to ensure that they could participate in APEC events in China in a "full" and "equal" manner.
While Mace did not comment on concerns over the safety of Taiwanese participants, a department spokesperson on Tuesday said that the US would "continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China."
In November last year, when Beijing announced it would host APEC events next year, Taiwan expressed concerns over its participation and the safety of its delegation.
It was particularly concerned about Chinese guidelines that provide for criminal punishments, including the death penalty, for certain extreme cases involving what it called "die-hard" Taiwan independence separatists.
Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), who then served as a deputy secretary-general in the National Security Council and now is an advisor to the council, said at that time that APEC's decisionmaking process is based on consensus, meaning all members must agree on a decision before it is adopted.
After discussions among APEC members, they agreed to Beijing hosting the event only after it promised to follow APEC's policies and practices to ensure APEC members' participation with dignity and protect the safety of all participants, Hsu said.
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