Beijing: China is nervous about an international conference to be held in Taiwan. For this, Chinese diplomats have pressured the leaders of at least six countries not to participate in the proposed China-centric conference in Taiwan. Leaders of many countries planning to attend the meeting have made this claim. Those countries are being threatened by China for coming to Taipei. These countries include countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the leaders of another Asian country (which refused to reveal the name) said that they are getting messages and phone calls regarding the meetings (to be held in Taiwan), in which they are being asked whether they are planning to visit Taiwan.
These leaders described this action of China as an attempt to isolate the self-governing island. The China-centric conference in Taiwan will begin on Monday. The conference is being organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of hundreds of parliamentarians from 35 countries. The group is concerned about how democratic countries approach Beijing. The Associated Press spoke to the conference organizers and three leaders and reviewed messages and emails sent to them by Chinese diplomats asking if they plan to attend the conference.
China has threatened countries with retaliation for coming to Taipei
China often threatens retaliation against leaders and countries who show support for Taiwan. It calls Taiwan its part. The foreign ministries of China and Taiwan have not yet commented on it. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has long faced pressure from the Chinese government. Its purpose is to coordinate diplomacy in response to potential threats from Beijing. Beijing has banned some of its members. In 2021, the group was targeted by Chinese government-sponsored hackers.
