The US would ensure that Taiwan can participate in a “full” and “equal” way in next year’s APEC events in China, a senior US Department of State official said on Thursday.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday told Reuters when asked about Taiwan’s participation that Beijing would fulfill its obligations as the host, but Taiwan should comply with the “one China” principle.
That prompted concern that Taipei’s participation could be limited.
Photo: CNA
In Taipei on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) described China’s stance as an “additional condition” being placed on Taiwan’s participation.
However, the US has offered its backing.
“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 senior State Department official to APEC, said in a briefing on this year’s APEC events in Gyeongju, South Korea.
“When the 21 economies of APEC endorsed China as the host for 2026, it sought assurances from China 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 told reporters.
China is to host next year’s APEC meeting in Shenzhen.
In a statement to Reuters published on Tuesday, the Chinese ministry said: “We would like to emphasize that the key to Chinese Taipei’s [Taiwan’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.”
Mace said that the US would continue to talk to its Taiwanese friends to ensure that they would participate in APEC events in China in a “full” and “equal” manner.
While Mace did not comment on concerns over the safety of Taiwanese at APEC in China, a State Department spokesperson on Tuesday told the Central News Agency 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 cases involving what Beijing calls “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.”
Then-National Security Council deputy secretary-general Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), who is now an adviser to the council, said at the 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 next year’s meeting only after it promised to follow APEC’s policies and practices to ensure APEC members would be able to participate with dignity, while also protecting the safety of all participants, Hsu said.
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