Taiwan says China has added conditions to its attendance at APEC summit

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By Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that China has “added a lot of conditions” to its attendance at next year’s APEC summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen and gone back on a commitment to allow “equal” participation.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation is one of the only international bodies Chinese-claimed Taiwan is a member of, and next November’s summit will come as relations between Taipei and Beijing have plummeted amid a stepped-up Chinese military pressure campaign against the island.

Taiwan says it had been promised by China last year the right to “equal participation” and that the safety of its people attending would be guaranteed.

China’s foreign ministry said this week that Taiwan’s participation in APEC activities must comply with the “one China” principle, which Beijing views as meaning both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one country, something Taipei’s government rejects.

Speaking to reporters at parliament, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said China had made promises last year at the Peru APEC summit.

“During last year’s APEC meeting in Peru, when China was vying for next year’s hosting rights, it made a written commitment to support Taiwan’s equal participation, particularly regarding the safety of attendees,” Lin said.

“China has now imposed numerous conditions on our participation in next year’s APEC summit in Shenzhen, which violates that prior commitment. We will defend our rights and coordinate with like-minded nations to counter these actions.”

Zhang Han, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said in Beijing later on Wednesday that China will handle Taiwan’s participation “in accordance with the one China principle and provisions and practices of relevant APEC memorandums of understanding”.

Taiwan’s democratically-elected government says China has no right to speak for or represent the island on the international stage.

Taiwan participates in APEC under the name “Chinese Taipei” and does not send its president to summits, to avoid political problems.

No APEC member has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

China refuses to talk to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”.

The last time China hosted an APEC summit in 2014, relations with Taiwan were much better under then-president Ma Ying-jeou, 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.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)