PRC's attempts to stop visits to Taiwan unacceptable: IPAC members

Taipei, July 30 (CNA) Members of a visiting international alliance of parliamentarians on Tuesday said that efforts by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to pressure them not to attend the alliance's summit in Taipei had been "unacceptable" and "unsuccessful."

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group of hundreds of lawmakers concerned about Beijing's threat to global democracy, held its fourth annual summit in Taipei with 49 politicians from 24 countries in attendance on Tuesday.

Before the event took place, the IPAC confirmed an Associated Press report 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 in an attempt to stop them from departing for Taipei to attend the IPAC summit.

Asked to comment on the situation during a press conference on Tuesday in Taipei, Miriam Lexmann, a Slovak politician and a member of the European Parliament, told reporters that she was one of the IPAC members who received a notice from a Chinese diplomat in her country.

"I think this is absolutely unacceptable that the Chinese Communist Party representatives contacted [IPAC] members who want to freely travel to Taiwan and do their job," Lexmann said.

"It's our job to secure human rights, security and prosperity for our citizens in our countries. And we believe that cooperation with Taiwan is bringing all of these and we do not want to be coerced, and we do not want to be put under any pressure."

The Slovakian parliamentarian who was born in Bratislava, in then Communist Czechoslovakia, said she remembered vividly that when she was a child, her family members would be summoned to the Communist Party headquarters for questioning whenever a relative was trying to travel overseas.

"I know that the only way to stop this [kind of harassment] is our love for freedom," she said.

Her fellow IPAC member, Reinhard Bütikofer, chair of the European Parliament's China Delegation, said not one member "did not attend [the Taipei summit] because of Chinese efforts to interfere."

"[Their efforts] were utterly unsuccessful," the German politician said during the same press event.

"Freedom of movement is a fundamental right in a functioning democracy," said another IPAC member, Deborah O'Neill, a Labor Senator from New South Wales in Australia.

"This is a democratic gathering in solidarity, and everyone is here to stand alongside the Taiwanese people," she added.

During the same press event held following Tuesday's summit, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) thanked IPAC for holding its annual summit in Taipei.

"Your presence sends a powerful message of solidarity to the people of Taiwan, and highlights our shared commitment to advancing human rights, democracy, peace and prosperity for all through your visit here," Hsiao said.

She said IPAC members highlighted that Taiwan's security "is an indispensable part of global prosperity" during the summit.

"We welcome opportunities such as this gathering to collectively work toward de-risking and de-escalating, while also upholding our cherished values of freedom and democracy," the vice president added.

"Taiwan is committed to working with IPAC members, governments and civil societies globally, to boost our collective democratic resilience," she said.

Also during Tuesday's press event, IPAC announced Taiwan's Legislative Yuan will be joining the alliance.

Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Fan Yun (范雲) and Taiwan People's Party Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) are now co-chairs of the Taiwan Legislature in IPAC, according to Luke de Pulford, the creator and executive director of IPAC.

Formed in 2020, IPAC 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.