At the conclusion of the annual summit of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) yesterday, the coalition officially welcomed Taiwan as one of its members. The IPAC, known for its posturing against Beijing’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific held its summit in Taipei, fuelling more contempt from the PRC.
IPAC bats for greater Taiwanese participation in official international organizations. Therefore “Its formal inclusion in the Alliance was welcomed as a historic result by all delegates,” IPAC said. The statement alludes to Taiwanese autonomy in decision-making, running contrary to China’s territorial and political claims in the island.
Fan Yun of the Democratic Progressive Party and Chen Gau-tzu of the Taiwan People’s Party now officially sit as co-chairs of the Taiwan parliament in IPAC. The Kuomintang, which has never attended IPAC activities declined to attend despite an open invitation.
President Lai Ching-te emphasized that Taiwan use the spirit of “democracy, peace, and prosperity” to better connect with the world. He also called for a “democratic umbrella” to protect the shared interests of allied nations.
Aggravating tensions with Beijing were unavoidable given the venue and nature of the event. Ahead of the event, eight delegates from six countries were contacted by Chinese embassies in their respective countries in an attempt to dissuade them from attending.
Some were suddenly invited for meetings happening at the same time at the summit, while others were even offered trips to China. IPAC director Luke de Pulford scoffs at these attempts as though their parliamentarians could be bought and bullied.
Slokian legislator Miriam Lexman was one of those approached by Chinese officials. While the attempts at discouraging her attendance were deft and somewhat subtle, the message was clear.
Lexman criticized the former Soviet states, like her home country, for their suppression of human rights. Likewise she welcomed Taiwan’s entry into the IPAC tweeting out “Working with our democratic partners across political divides to defend #Freedom, #Peace and #Security in the face of threats posed by the CCP must be our common goal.”
Australian Senator Deborah O’Neill, another IPAC member noted that “Freedom of movement is a fundamental right in a functioning democracy.”
The summit drew in 49 dignitaries from 24 countries plus the European Parliament. It is the largest ever foreign delegation of legislators to ever visit the island.
At the summit, delegates passed a resolution countering China’s “distortion” of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 passed in 1971 which recognizes the PRC as a sovereign state. However the resolution does not state anything about claims on Taiwan. China often invokes the resolution to deny Taiwan a seat in international organizations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the resolution “squeezes our country’s international space.”
The ministry also thanked the IPAC for speaking against the resolution as it called on the international community to jointly counter China’s misinterpretation of the UN resolution and “China’s fallacious attempt to connect the resolution with the so-called one-China principle.”
In May, the United States also clarified its position on the UN Resolution ahead of a World Health Organization meeting in Geneva. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that “Taiwan should be able to participate.” He added that this will bring “meaningful expertise” to democratic discussion.
The summit also reiterated past resolutions including a “commitment to defend the universal rights of all individuals in China, Hong Kong, the Uyghur Region, Tibet, as well as those facing Beijing’s long-arm repression around the world.”
