Agriculture minister Tsao Chi-hung has called for Beijing to stop barring Taiwanese delegates from international conferences.
Tsao was speaking Wednesday after reports that two delegates from Taiwan were removed from a fisheries conference in Italy in July.
The two delegates were attending a conference held by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Fisheries. Chinese attendees noticed that one delegate presented a Taiwanese passport outside the conference area. Chinese officials prevented the delegate from entering the conference and demanded the removal of another Taiwanese delegate already in the hall. The two delegates were Fisheries Agency officials, but they were attending as observers and representing Taiwanese NGOs.
Agriculture minister Tsao Chi-hung told reporters Wednesday that the incident had been regrettable. Tsao called on Beijing to stop what he called its overemphasis on politics.