Taipei, June 16 (IANS) Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Tuesday slammed China for pressuring Kenya to block Taiwan’s participation in 11th ‘Our Ocean Conference’, local media reported.
The ministry stated that Taiwanese academics travelled to Mombasa on Sunday at the invitation of the Kenyan government to attend a preconference academic exchange and present research. According to the ministry, the organisers did not issue entry badges to the academics at the venue, saying that Taiwanese passports are not recognised, Taiwan-based Taipei Times reported.
The ministry said that the mobiles phones and passports of academics were confiscated and they were detained for over 20 hours before being allowed to board a flight and leave the country.
It said that Ocean Affairs Council had planned to send a delegation to attend the Our Ocean Conference. However, it cancelled the plan due to Kenyan government’s actions and concerns regarding safety of delegation members.
The ministry stated that the incident shows China’s “heavy-handed and overbearing diplomacy” and how it was keeping political considerations over professional cooperation on ocean sustainability, Taipei Times reported.
Taiwan has participated in the ‘Our Ocean Conference’ since 2015. However, the ministry noted that Kenya under Chinese pressure disregarded Taiwan’s contributions and excluded it from the event.
It said that Taiwan acted as a political proxy for China and violated the conference’s principles of inclusiveness and cooperation. The ministry criticised China for its efforts to suppress Taiwan’s participation in the international events and urged Beijing to stop “barbaric actions” that impact global cooperation on ocean affairs.
The ministry urged like-minded nations to take the matter seriously and work together to curb China’s aggressive “bullying diplomacy.”
China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Despite China’s efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China’s incursions.
Last month, Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) had urged people to remain alert to cybersecurity risks posed by four Chinese-made mobile apps, including Amap, which currently tops Android and iOS download charts for navigation apps in Taiwan, local media reported.
–IANS
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