Taiwan condemns Kenya over detention of ocean conference delegates
Taiwan’s foreign minister said Beijing’s efforts to restrict the island’s international access have become routine after an incident in Kenya.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Taiwan accused Kenya of blocking its delegates from an international ocean conference under pressure from China, after two Taiwanese representatives were detained in Mombasa for more than 20 hours. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung said Wednesday that Chinese efforts to restrict Taiwan’s participation in global events have become “the new normal,” according to the Associated Press.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the two delegates had traveled to the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya but were denied entry because their Taiwanese passports were not recognized. The ministry said their passports and mobile phones were taken, and that they were later allowed to leave Kenya.
The rest of Taiwan’s delegation pulled out of the conference after the incident, the ministry said. Lin, speaking at an event hosted by the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club, condemned Kenya’s actions and accused Nairobi of stretching its interpretation of the “One China” policy.
Kenya defended the decision. Korir Sing’oei, principal secretary in Kenya’s Foreign Ministry, said the country’s foreign policy “recognizes only one China.” He said anyone presenting a Taiwanese passport would normally be denied entry for lacking proper documentation and would not be part of a formal state meeting convened by Kenya’s government.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, though Taiwan has been governed separately from the mainland since 1949, when Nationalist forces fled to the island after losing China’s civil war to the Communists. Beijing has said Taiwan must come under its control and has not ruled out using force, according to the Associated Press.
Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy. China has sought for years to limit Taiwan’s role in international organizations and events, including the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly, the AP reported. At the Olympics, Taiwan competes as “Chinese Taipei” because of Beijing’s objections to its use of the Taiwan name.
Lin said Beijing is putting more pressure on countries to exclude Taiwan, especially developing and emerging economies with economic ties to China. “Some Global South countries are manipulated by the Chinese government in every way,” Lin said. “Some democratic countries are trying to fight against it.”
China has not commented on Taiwan’s accusation that it influenced the Kenyan conference decision, the AP reported.
Taiwanese officials have pointed to other recent cases of Chinese pressure. In April, Taiwan’s president delayed a planned trip to Eswatini after three countries withdrew permission for his plane to pass through their airspace following pressure from China, his office said. He later reached Eswatini on a plane chartered by the country’s king, according to the AP.
Kenya is hosting the Our Ocean Conference, an annual gathering focused on ocean issues including climate change, biodiversity and pollution. The AP reported that delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are attending, with organizers presenting Africa’s first time hosting the event as a chance to shape global ocean policy.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.