Two US lawmakers on Wednesday criticized China for allegedly interfering in the WTO ministerial conference in Cameroon, which they said led to Taiwan’s exclusion from the event.
“Cameroon’s decision to effectively exclude Taiwan from the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaounde is another troubling example of China’s continued efforts to manipulate multilateral institutions,” a joint statement issued by US Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and US Representative Ro Khanna, a ranking member of the committee, said.
“This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a sustained campaign by Beijing to marginalize Taiwan and exert undue influence over international bodies,” the statement said. “The United States will continue to stand with Taiwan, which deserves a seat at the table as a model democracy, one of the world’s largest economies and a technological powerhouse. We urge the WTO to stand up to China’s bullying and facilitate Taiwan’s participation in this Ministerial Conference.”
Photo: AFP
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week lodged a formal protest with the WTO Secretariat after Cameroon listed Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” on visa documents for the ministerial conference, scheduled for yesterday until Sunday.
The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said.
In a statement issued on Friday last week, the ministry said that Cameroon had not only violated long-standing conventions regarding entry and visa procedures for delegation members from Taiwan, “it also neglected to provide Taiwan with the fair, impartial and reasonable treatment that Taiwan is entitled to as a WTO member.”
As a result, Taiwan has been forced to withdraw from the ministerial conference, it said.
Cameroon maintained that the designation of Taiwan reflected its “foreign policy,” and it declined to make any adjustments.
In their statement, the two US lawmakers said that as a full WTO member, Taiwan has long been recognized by the host countries of WTO conferences a “separate customs territory.”
“Taiwan is a key global trading partner, not only for the United States but for countries around the world,” the statement said. “Its compelled absence from the WTO’s premier decisionmaking forum for the first time since its accession in 2001 lessens the WTO’s collective ability to address challenges that chart the future of global trade.”
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