Taiwan delegation visits China for APEC meeting despite Chinese threat: Official

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) A senior Taiwanese government official said Tuesday that a delegation that visited China for a round of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan's sovereignty.

Jonathan Sun (孫儉元), Taiwan's APEC senior official and head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of International Organizations, said he and a group of MOFA officials visited Shenzhen to attend the 2026 APEC Informal Senior Officials' Meeting held last December.

The December trip went "smoothly and safely" for all Taiwanese delegates as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices.

The Taiwan group was not met with any suppression politically, Sun told reporters during a MOFA weekly briefing.

Sun made the remarks when asked to comment on the latest updates on Taiwan's participation in the APEC meeting this year, after China's foreign ministry previously said it would fulfill its obligations as the host, as long as Taiwan complies with the "one China" principle.

Beijing's "one China" principle asserts that Taiwan is part of China and that there is only one legitimate and sovereign state representing the whole of China, a claim repeatedly rejected by Taiwan.

In response, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Nov. 5 that the government would launch "countermeasures" against China should Beijing insist on asking Taiwan to attend Shenzhen APEC under the "one China principle."

Taiwan will not accept any political maneuvers aimed at undermining or excluding its participation and will work with like-minded partners to oppose such moves, he added.

Launched in 1989, APEC is an intergovernmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan joined APEC in 1991 under the name "Chinese Taipei."

Sun said Tuesday that over the last year, Taiwan has been in talks with China to make sure the APEC host guarantees Taiwan's "equal, dignified, and safe involvement" in APEC meetings and activities in Shenzhen.

Sun said both sides of the Taiwan Strait have agreed to follow a mutually agreed model to facilitate the Taiwanese delegation's visit to China. But he refused to provide further details, citing confidentiality.