U.S. invites Taiwan to its democracy summit; China angered

A man drives past a Taiwanese flag in Taipei, Taiwan on Nov. 16, 2021. REUTERS / Ann Wang / File Photo

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (Reuters) – The Biden government has invited Taiwan to its “Democracy Summit” next month, according to a list of participants released Tuesday.

The first meeting of its kind is a test of President Joe Biden’s claim, announced in his first foreign policy address in February, that he will return the United States to global leadership to confront authoritarian forces led by China and Russia.

110 participants are on the invitation list of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the virtual event on December 9th and 10th, which should help to stop the democratic relapse and the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. The list does not include China or Russia. Continue reading

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Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said the government will be represented by Digital Minister Audrey Tang and Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Washington.

“Our country’s invitation to participate in the ‘Summit of Democracy’ is an endorsement of Taiwan’s efforts to promote the values ​​of democracy and human rights over the years,” the ministry added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was “firmly” against the invitation.

“US measures only serve to show that democracy is only a cover and a tool to advance their geopolitical goals, to suppress other countries, to divide the world and to serve their own interests,” said Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian Reporters in Beijing.

The invitation to Taiwan comes as China has increased pressure on countries to downgrade or sever relations with the island, which Beijing believes has no right to a state’s insignia. Continue reading

Self-governing Taiwan says Beijing has no right to speak for it.

Sharp differences remained over Taiwan during a virtual meeting earlier this month between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While reaffirming US longstanding support for the “one-China” policy, which officially recognizes Beijing instead of Taipei, Biden also said he has “unilateral efforts to change the status quo or to achieve cross-strait peace and stability to undermine “declines resolutely. said the White House.

Xi said independence seekers in Taiwan and their supporters in the United States are “playing with fire,” according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Right-wing groups wonder whether Biden’s Summit for Democracy can get invited world leaders, some of whom have been accused of harboring authoritarian tendencies, to take meaningful action.

The Foreign Ministry’s list shows that the event will bring together mature democracies like France and Sweden, but also countries like the Philippines, India and Poland where activists say democracy is under threat.

In Asia, some US allies such as Japan and South Korea were invited, while others such as Thailand and Vietnam were not. Other notable absenteeists were US allies Egypt and NATO member Turkey. There will be little representation from the Middle East, with Israel and Iraq being the only two countries invited.

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Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional coverage from Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by Peter Cooney, Michael Perry and Philippa Fletcher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-administration-invites-taiwan-its-summit-democracy-2021-11-24/