‘No Entry in China for a Year’: Beijing Bans 4 New Zealand Lawmakers Who Visited Taiwan
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- 3 min read
By Pranjal Gupta
New Delhi, June 4: Four New Zealand lawmakers who visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip have reportedly been banned by China from entering its territory for a year on Thursday. Beijing believes that Taiwan is an integral part of China, and any foreign visit to Taiwan without China’s authorisation is a challenge to its claims. In recent years, China has issued sanctions on lawmakers from other countries who visited Taiwan, and metaphorically challenges its control over Taiwan. However, this was the first time for the New Zealand parliamentarians, according to the government in Wellington.
The New Zealand lawmakers, who visited Taipei in May, received emails from Beijing's embassy in Wellington, saying they have been banned from China, Macau and Hong Kong for one year, a report by the Associated Press said. It added that the ban could be lifted if the officials submit an apology for visiting Taiwan.
When asked on Thursday, two of the banned lawmakers refused to issue any apology. Lawmaker Laura McClure from the libertarian ACT party said that the “demand” for an apology was “frankly insulting” and she wouldn't give one. Duncan Webb, from the centre-left Labour Party, said New Zealand valued democratic institutions and the right to engage with partners abroad.
“If the cost of doing that is to be excluded from China for a year, I will pay that price,” Webb said in an email.
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the officials' visit was “not inconsistent with New Zealand's One China policy," which includes acknowledgment of Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a province of China. New Zealand is not among the 12 nations worldwide that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan's government.
China Says Taiwan Visit Violates Past Practice
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the officials' visit was “not inconsistent with New Zealand's One China policy”, under which Wellington acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is a province of China. New Zealand is not among the 12 countries worldwide that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan's government.
China-New Zealand Relations
Relations between Wellington and Beijing have generally remained positive in recent years. China is New Zealand's largest trading partner and was the first Western country to sign a free trade agreement with Beijing.
“China has consistently opposed visits to Taiwan by members of parliament from countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including New Zealand, and this case is no exception,” a spokesperson for China's embassy in Wellington said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday. “The New Zealand side should not be surprised.”
Beijing's Claim Over Taiwan
Beijing says Taipei has no right to conduct foreign relations and views visits by foreign
lawmakers to the island as a challenge to China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
A spokesperson for Peters said New Zealand officials in Beijing and Wellington would raise the issue with China “to express concern over this departure from past practice and to better understand it”.
Australia Voices Concern
In neighbouring Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that her government would also raise concerns over the lawmakers' bans with Beijing and China's mission in Canberra.
“We agree with the principle expressed by New Zealand that members of parliament, including those in the Australian Parliament, are free to make their own decisions about overseas travel, independent of government,” she told a Senate committee in Canberra.
“Placing pressure on parliamentarians is not appropriate,” she added.
(With Inputs from news agency AP)
