U.S. to ensure Taiwan's full APEC participation in China in 2026

Washington, Nov. 6 (CNA) The United States will ensure Taiwan can participate in a "full" and "equal" way in next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events to be held in China, a senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday.

China's foreign ministry told Reuters on Tuesday when asked about Taiwan's participation that Beijing will fulfill its obligations as the host but that Taiwan should comply with the "one China" principle, which raised fears that Taipei's participation could be limited.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) described the stance Wednesday as an "additional condition" being placed on its APEC participation, but the U.S. has offered its backing in the controversy.

"A really important feature of APEC is the fact that Taiwan is a full and equal participant and partner, and the United States supports that," Casey Mace, a U.S. State Department senior official to APEC said in a briefing on this year's APEC events held in Gyeongju, South Korea.

"When the 21 economies of APEC endorsed China as the host for 2026, it sought assurances from China that that it would follow all standing practices and policies regarding participation, and so we expect that that they will live up to that certainly," Mace said in reply to a CNA question on the concerns over China's stance.

China will host the 2026 APEC meeting in Shenzhen.

In a statement to Reuters published Tuesday, China's foreign ministry said: "We would like to emphasize that the key to Chinese Taipei's participation in APEC activities lies in compliance with the 'one China' principle and the relevant APEC memorandum of understanding, rather than any safety issues."

In response, Mace said the U.S. will continue to talk to its Taiwanese friends to ensure that they will be participating in APEC events in China in a "full" and "equal" manner.

While Mace did not comment on concerns over the safety of Taiwanese participants in APEC in China, a State Department spokesperson told CNA on Tuesday that the U.S. will "continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China."

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.

On Wednesday, Lin said on the sidelines of a legislative session that Taiwan will launch "countermeasures" against China's extra condition for the 2026 events.

"We will safeguard our right to participate and will work with like-minded countries to launch countermeasures," Lin said, without elaborating.

In November 2024, when Beijing announced it would host APEC events in 2026, Taiwan expressed concerns over its participation and the safety of its delegation.

It was particularly concerned about Chinese guidelines that provide for criminal punishments, including the death penalty, for certain extreme cases involving what it called "die-hard" Taiwan independence separatists.

Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉), who served as a deputy secretary-general in the National Security Council (NSC) then and now is an advisor to the NSC, said at that time that APEC's decision-making process is based on consensus, meaning all members must agree on a decision before it is adopted.

After discussions among APEC members, they agreed to Beijing hosting the 2026 event only after it promised to follow APEC's policies and practices to ensure APEC members' participation with dignity and protect the safety of all participants, Hsu said.