Lawmakers from six countries say Beijing is pressuring them not to attend conference in Taiwan

Luke de Pulford

Lawmakers from at least six countries said Chinese diplomats were pressuring them not to attend a China-focused conference in Taiwan, in what they described as efforts to isolate the self-governed island.

Politicians in Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and one Asian country that declined to be named said they were getting texts, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with their plans to travel to Taipei. Taiwan is part of China’s territory.

The conference begins Monday and is being held by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing. IPAC has long faced pressure from the Chinese government: Some members have been sanctioned by Beijing, and in 2021 the group was targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, according to a U.S. indictment unsealed earlier this year.

But Luke de Pulford, the alliance’s director, said the pressure from Chinese officials the past few days has been unprecedented. During past IPAC meetings in other locations, “lawmakers were approached by Chinese diplomats only after they concluded.”

This year, the first in which IPAC’s annual meeting is taking place in Taiwan, there appeared to be a coordinated attempt to stop participants from attending.

The Associated Press spoke to three lawmakers and reviewed texts and emails sent by Chinese diplomats asking whether they were planning to participate in the meeting.

“I’m Wu, from Chinese Embassy,” read a message allegedly sent to Antonio Miloshoski, a member of parliament in North Macedonia. “We heard that you got an invitation from IPAC, will you attend the Conference which will be held next week in Taiwan?”

In some cases, lawmakers described vague inquiries about their plans to travel to Taiwan.

China routinely threatens retaliation against politicians and countries that show support for Taiwan, which has only informal relations with most countries due to Chinese diplomatic pressure. Klarić said the pressure was “unpleasant” but only steeled her determination to go on the trip.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Lawmakers from 25 countries were expected to attend this year’s meeting, including Japan, India and the U.K., and IPAC said in a statement that some would meet with high-level Taiwanese officials. The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. MDT/AP