Taiwan rejects Beijing’s interference in Vice President Hsiao’s Italy visit, defends European Parliament engagement

Taipei [Taiwan] September 12 (ANI): Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Friday rejected Beijing’s criticism of Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s ongoing visit to Italy, saying China has no right to interfere in the trip, according to a report by Central News Agency (CNA).

MOFA spokesperson Hsiao Kuangwei told CNA that China has no right to dictate Hsiao Bi-khim’s participation in events to which she was invited by the European Parliament.

The comments came after Beijing criticised the vice president’s unannounced visit to the Italian island of Ventotene, where she is attending the Second Ventotene European Conference for Freedom and Democracy.

MOFA confirmed Hsiao’s visit early Friday after European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno, the main organiser of the event, announced late Thursday that Hsiao had arrived in Italy for the conference, which is being held from Thursday through Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said earlier Friday that Beijing had lodged solemn representations with Italy and the European Union over Hsiao’s visit, as cited by the CNA report.

Mao said China consistently opposes any form of official contact between Taiwan and countries that maintain diplomatic relations with China. She described Beijing’s “one China” principle as the political foundation of China-Italy and China-EU relations.

According to Taiwan’s MOFA, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung accompanied Hsiao on the trip. The ministry declined to provide further details regarding their itinerary.

Meanwhile, Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an international cross-party alliance of parliamentarians, expressed support for Hsiao’s participation in the event in comments to CNA.

De Pulford said that the response to Beijing’s efforts to restrict Taiwan’s international space should be to demonstrate that Taiwan is welcome. He said this was not only because allowing Taiwan such participation serves national interests, but also because he considers it wrong for a democracy like Taiwan to be persecuted and excluded from the international stage. (ANI)

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