Taiwan hosts international anti-Chinese Communist Party coalition conference

Beijing tried to ‘intimidate and dissuade’ some of the 48 Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China lawmakers from attending, IPAC says

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Dozens of lawmakers, drawn from a broad spectrum of the world’s political parties, will meet in Taipei this week for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) summit. Photo: IPAC

Published: 9:00pm, 29 Jul 2024

An international coalition advocating for a tougher stance on the Chinese Communist Party will open its annual conference in Taiwan on Tuesday, an event likely to provoke Beijing.

Some 48 lawmakers from 24 countries across five continents arrived in Taipei on Sunday for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) conference, although Taiwan is not a member of the alliance.

According to IPAC, the meeting will focus on crafting a coordinated campaign aimed at maintaining cross-strait stability and peace for the legislators to promote in their home countries. Cybersecurity will also be a key topic of discussion.

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“It will be the largest parliamentary delegation ever to visit Taiwan in an institutional capacity,” the alliance said on Sunday.

Earlier, it announced that Taiwanese government officials and world-leading experts would attend the gathering, which will be conducted in Japanese, Mandarin, English and Spanish.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that the island’s leader, William Lai Ching-te, would deliver an opening address, while his deputy, Hsiao Bi-khim, would attend the conference’s press event.

During their three-day stay in Taiwan, the delegation will meet Hsiao at her office, attend a welcome dinner hosted by the foreign ministry and visit the island’s legislature and hi-tech companies. This aimed to provide a better understanding of local political and economic developments, cross-strait conditions and Taiwan’s role in the global supply chain, the ministry said.