Beijing fumes as Biden invites Taiwan to democracy summit

BEIJING: China’s government has accused Joe Biden of “a mistake” in inviting Taiwan to participate in a democracy summit alongside 109 other democratic governments.

Taiwan was included in a list of participants for next month’s Summit for Democracy, published by the state department on Tuesday. Taiwan is a democracy and self-governing, but Beijing claims it is a province of China and has accused its government of separatism.

The inaugural gathering is considered a test of Biden’s pledge that he would return the US to a position asserting global leadership to challenge authoritarian forces led by China and Russia. Neither is included in the virtual summit, scheduled for 9 and 10 December.

On Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the inclusion of Taiwan was a “mistake” and Beijing opposed “any official interaction between the US and China’s Taiwan region”. “This stance is clear and consistent. We urge the US to stick to the ‘one China’ principle and the three joint communique,” she said.

The US’s ‘one China’ policy acknowledges that Beijing claims Taiwan as a province but does not say it recognises the claim. Since taking office, Biden and the White House have reiterated longstanding US support for its “one China” policy, which officially recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, but also said the US “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

A spokesman for Taiwan’s presidential office thanked Biden for the summit invitation, and said they would be “a force for good in international society”.

“Taiwan will cooperate firmly with like-minded countries to protect universal values such as freedom, democracy and human rights; and also safeguard regional peace, stability and development,” said the spokesman, Xavier Chang.