Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China condemns PRC pressure over Taiwan conference News
Image by hang yuen ho from Pixabay
Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China condemns PRC pressure over Taiwan conference

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) issued a statement on Monday confirming several of its members were contacted by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) embassies in their respective countries to “attempt to intimidate and dissuade them” from travelling to Taiwan for the upcoming annual summit held in Taipei, Taiwan.

The statement noted that “[e]ight lawmakers in at least five countries reported receiving emails and/or phone calls from PRC diplomatic officials prior to their departure for the IPAC [s]ummit in Taipei.” The IPAC “deplores and condemns” the PRC’s interference attempt. An Associated Press report from Monday confirmed politicians from Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Bosnia were among those receiving “texts, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with their plans to travel to Taipei.”

Comprised of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 democratic countries focused on relations with the PRC, IPAC is set to hold its fourth annual summit in Taipei on July 30. The attendance of 48 lawmakers from 24 countries makes this the “largest parliamentary delegation ever to visit Taiwan in an institutional capacity.” IPAC Executive Director Luke de Pulford commented on the PRC seemingly targeting legislators from smaller countries, imputing Beijing likely “feels that they can get away with it.” Ahead of the summit, directly addressing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, he affirmed, “You don’t get to decide the travel plans of foreign politicians.”

The Associated Press interviewed three lawmakers, reviewing the correspondence they received from PRC diplomats. Sanela Klarić, a member of parliament in Bosnia, revealed that a Chinese diplomat contacted the head of her party, attempting to prevent her from travelling to Taiwan for the summit. Bolivian Senator Centa Rek stated she submitted a letter of protest following a Chinese diplomat’s attempt to dissuade her from attending the summit, saying the organization hosting the meeting was “not accepted within the terms of the policy of mainland China” and claiming Taiwan was run by an “imposter president”. The diplomat further noted he would report her refusal to his embassy; Rek considered this an “unacceptable intrusion” amounting to a “veiled threat.”

China has previously imposed sanctions against countries that have recognized Taiwan independently, such as Lithuania, or supported Taiwan through arms trade. Luke de Pulford noted the pressure from Chinese officials ahead of the summit has been unprecedented, calling it “gross foreign interference.”

The IPAC statement denounces the PRC’s actions as “yet another example of their brazen efforts to curtail other nations’ democratic privileges and negate Taiwan’s rights to engage in legitimate diplomatic exchanges.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia

On September 5, 1774, the first assembly of the Continental Congress, forerunner of the US Congress, convened in Philadelphia to protest the so-called "Intolerable Acts" passed by the British Parliament. Review the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress.

France passes conscription law

On September 5, 1798, France promulgated a conscription policy with the passage of the Jourdan Law. The law instituted a draft for all males between the ages of twenty and twenty-five with exceptions for clergy, holders of public office, and certain students and industrial workers. The law also allowed the wealthy to pay for someone else to take their place in the military.