Lawmakers from at least six countries say Chinese diplomats are pressuring them not to participate in a summit in Taiwan, which is dedicated to China, which they define as an attempt to isolate the self-governing island, the Associated Press reported, cited by BTA.
Politicians from Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and another unnamed Asian country say they are receiving texts, calls and urgent meeting requests that would scupper their plans to travel to Taipei, the capital of the island. China fiercely defends its claim to Taiwan and views it as its territory, which can be annexed by force if necessary.
The summit begins on Monday and is organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China, a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about the democracies' approach to Beijing. The alliance has long been under pressure from the Chinese government — some members have been sanctioned by Beijing, and in 2021 the group was the target of attacks by state-sponsored Chinese hackers, according to a US indictment released on early this year.
But the director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, Luke de Pulford, says the pressure from Chinese officials over the past few days has been unprecedented. During previous alliance meetings elsewhere, Chinese diplomats have addressed lawmakers only after those events have concluded. This year marks the first time the meeting is being held in Taiwan, and there appears to be a coordinated attempt to prevent participants from attending.
The AP spoke with three lawmakers and reviewed texts and emails sent by Chinese diplomats asking if they planned to participate in the summit.
"I am Wu, from the Chinese Embassy", reads a message sent to Antonio Miloshoski, a member of parliament in the Republic of North Macedonia. "We heard that you have received an invitation from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China, will you participate in the conference that will be held next week in Taiwan?", the text added.
In some cases, lawmakers say there have been vague inquiries about their plans to travel to Taiwan. In other cases, the contact was more threatening. One lawmaker told the AP that Chinese diplomats had sent a message to the head of his party requesting that she be stopped from traveling.
"They contacted the chairman of my political party and asked him to stop me from traveling to Taiwan," said Sanela Klaric, a member of parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "They are trying in my country to stop me from traveling... This is really not normal,", she added.
China regularly threatens to retaliate against politicians and countries that express support for Taiwan, which has only informal relations with most countries around the world due to Chinese diplomatic pressure. Klarich says the pressure on her was unpleasant, but it only strengthened her determination to travel.
"I really fight against countries or societies where the tool to manipulate and control peoples is fear," Klarich said, adding that it reminded her of the threats and intimidation she faced during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.
"I really hate the feeling when someone scares you,", she shares.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.
De Pulford called the pressure a "crude external intervention".
"How would China's officials feel if we tried to tell them what to do about their travel plans, where they can and can't go?'' says De Pulford. "It is absolutely outrageous that they feel they can interfere with the travel plans of foreign lawmakers," he added.
According to a press release, this year's summit in Taiwan is expected to be attended by lawmakers from 25 countries and high-level meetings will be held with Taiwanese officials.