China pressing European countries to bar Taiwan politicians or face crossing a ‘red line’ | Taiwan

Chinese officials are giving “legal advice” to European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

Officials have warned European countries not to “break China’s red lines” by approaching European embassies in Beijing or directly to European governments in their capitals via local embassies, according to European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.

The style of approaches varied; some to individual countries, some in groups, some by written note (semi-formal diplomatic communication), and others in person. These occurred in November and December and were at least partly in response to recent European trips by Taiwanese officials, including the current vice president, the secretary of state and a former president.

Beijing has said it “respects the sovereignty of the European side in the initiation and implementation of visa policy”, but an “institutional vacuum” has allowed Taiwanese politicians to visit frequently, according to a verbal memo seen by the Guardian.

The Chinese cited numerous EU laws and regulations, including one known as the Schengen Border Code. says The condition for entry of non-EU citizens is that they “are not considered a threat to the international relations of any of the member states”.

The Guardian understands that the authorities’ suggestion was that allowing Taiwanese officials into a European country would threaten that country’s international relations with China.

In some cases, they also referred to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations or suggested that European countries follow the UN example and ban all Taiwanese from government buildings, according to the Guardian.

“Beijing’s implementation and interpretation of this regulation is bold,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an assistant professor at Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University, when told of the moves. “Beijing’s interpretation is that EU-Taiwan ties threaten EU-China ties. This is not the perception or reality in Europe.”

China’s foreign ministry did not respond to questions. However, the verbal note states that European countries should reject “so-called diplomatic passports” issued by Taiwan and “prohibit Taiwanese personnel from entering Europe for official contacts and exchange of information and from violating China’s red line.”

“China hopes that EU institutions and European countries will make a political decision to deny the entry of Taiwan’s so-called president or vice president (including former ones), in the larger interests of China-EU relations and bilateral relations,” he said, listing other officials.

The note said officials’ visits to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland “seriously undermined China-EU relations.”

“The European side… even acted tolerantly” [vice-president] “Hsiao Bi-khim will speak at the European parliament building and support ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist claims,” ​​he said, referring to Hsiao’s speech at the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance of China (Ipac) in Brussels.

The foreign ministries of Norway and Finland confirmed they were among the countries to receive the recommendation. They said visa regulations with Taiwan are determined by the relevant Schengen bodies.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “Permission to enter the UK is determined solely by our own laws and immigration rules, which apply equally to those traveling from Taiwan.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the officials’ visits to Europe were “completely unrelated to China, and China has no right to interfere.”

“On the contrary, China’s use of various coercive measures against other countries and threats of force against Taiwan are the real force undermining global and Indo-Pacific peace and stability and threatening the EU’s direct interests, undermining Europe’s international relations,” the spokesman told the Guardian.

“China’s actions should be condemned”

The Guardian understands that China’s “highly specific” advice on European border laws, in force since 2011, is not seen as legally valid by recipients, but its cautionary tone has been taken particularly seriously by some smaller countries.

“I see this as another way to create unease among member states over the deterioration of their relations with the EU. [People’s Republic of China] may be at risk… and Beijing knows very well that some EU member states are now very keen to attract Chinese investment,” Ferenczy said.

The EU does not take a position on Taiwan’s status and maintains this position despite having official relations with Beijing. “solid” informal relationships through parliamentary diplomacy and trade with Taipei. Many European countries and the EU have trade offices in Taipei that act as unofficial embassies.

But in recent years the bloc has faced growing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan is a province of China and plans to annex it by force if necessary. Beijing has been applying intense diplomatic pressure to the international community to isolate Taipei from multilateral interaction, amid strategies to force Taiwan to accept conflict-free unification.

Claus Soong, an analyst at Merics who specializes in China’s global strategy, said this unusual move dovetails with Beijing’s long-standing strategy to use all possible means to deter closer cooperation with Taiwan.

“Beijing is doing their best to say that you really need to think a little bit before letting Taiwanese officials in. I wouldn’t say it’s a threat, it’s more of a reminder, albeit not a gentle one.”