IPAC condemns Chinese pressure over upcoming Taipei summit

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) An international alliance of parliamentarians on Sunday condemned the People's Republic of China (PRC) for allegedly pressuring its members not to fly to Taiwan to attend the alliance's annual summit set to kick off in Taipei on Tuesday.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about Beijing's threat to global democracy, said some IPAC members were contacted by PRC embassies in their respective countries as part of a "clear attempt to intimidate and dissuade" them from traveling to Taiwan for the annual meet.

According to IPAC, eight lawmakers in at least five countries reportedly received emails and/or phone calls from PRC diplomatic officials before they departed for Taipei.

"Some discovered their party leadership had been contacted to exert additional pressure. One lawmaker was specifically invited to travel to the PRC rather than to Taipei," it added.

IPAC "deplores and condemns" the PRC's attempt to interfere in its summit.

"The PRC's actions around the IPAC Summit are yet another example of brazen efforts to curtail other nations' democratic privileges and negate Taiwan's rights to engage in legitimate diplomatic exchanges."

IPAC members reserve the right to lodge formal representations and complaints with their respective foreign ministries, it added.

The IPAC statement confirmed an Associated Press (AP) report earlier in the day, which said lawmakers from Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and "one other Asian country that declined to be named," had received emails and/or phone calls from PRC diplomatic officials before their departure to Taipei for the IPAC summit.

According to emails received by lawmakers made public by AP, in some cases, lawmakers received inquiries about their plans to travel to Taiwan. One lawmaker told AP that Chinese diplomats messaged the head of her party demanding they stop her from going.

IPAC will hold its fourth annual summit in Taipei on July 30 and 31, with 48 cross-party lawmakers from 24 countries across five continents set to participate.

According to IPAC, cross-strait stability will be at the top of the summit's agenda.

The event will also be attended by Taiwan's government and world-leading experts, it said, without elaborating.

"It will be the largest parliamentary delegation ever to visit Taiwan in an institutional capacity," IPAC said.

Formed in 2020, IPAC has over 250 members from 35 legislatures and the European Parliament. It is an international, cross-party alliance of parliamentarians from democratic countries focused on relations with the PRC.

Its purpose is to create a coordinated response to China on global trade, security and human rights issues.

Also Sunday, IPAC welcomed six more countries -- Colombia, Iraq, Malawi, Solomon Islands, The Gambia, and Uruguay -- to the alliance.

Meanwhile, in a separate press statement, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it welcomed the upcoming summit and confirmed that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will deliver an address during the event.

Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) will also attend the summit's press event, the ministry said.