China angered by Taiwan VP's visit to EU democracy forum
News of Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim's attendence was kept under wraps for security reasonsImage: Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo/picture allianceAdvertisementChina was angered by Italy and the EU on Friday, lodging "solemn representations" with both after news broke that high-ranking Taiwanese officials had traveled to the bloc to attend an annual democracy summit.
Beijing's Foreign Ministry said it firmly opposes official interactions of any form with Taiwan by nations who have ties with China.
Solemn representations is a literal translation of a Chinese term expressing diplomatic discontent.
At issue is a visit by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, both of whom were welcomed to the Ventotene Conference for Freedom and Democracy in Italy.
China sees democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, which it has vowed to "reunite" with the mainland.
Beijing has previously blasted Hsiao as an "independence diehard" and has criticized her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a separatist outfit.
Taiwan's government has not sought formal independence but Beijing has, nevertheless, threatened to take the island by military force.
European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno announced Hsiao and Lin's attendance at the conference early Friday morning, adding that news of the visit had been kept under wraps until they arrived for safety reasons.
The EU's Picierno, who called the visit a "very important message," was defiant on Friday, saying, "No one can decide who is hosted in Ventotene and who is not," and calling out the Chinese "regime" for seeking to interfere.
Though Taiwanese foreign ministers travel abroad, it is rare for an official as high-ranking as the vice president to visit nations with ties to Beijing for fear of fallout for host countries.
Other prominent pro-democracy advocates such as Russian Kremlin critic Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Alexei Navalny, and Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya are also in attendance.
The conference began on Thursday and is scheduled to wrap up on Saturday.
Italy, like most nations, is not among Taiwan's 12 formal diplomatic allies, although the Vatican is.
Still, both Italy and Taiwan have de facto embassies in each other's capitals.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will not meet with the visiting Taiwanese officials.
Further details are expected to be made public after the conference concludes.
The EU is walking a fine line between democratic support for Taiwan and relations with China.
Beijing's support for Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine — which also prompted Taiwan to seek closer ties with the EU in 2022 — has been a thorn in the side of EU nations and in Brussels.
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