She did not miss any of the subjects that sparked Beijing’s wrath. Hong Kong’s trampled freedoms, which former student leader Nathan Law spoke about. Occupied Tibet, represented by the President of the Central Administration in exile, Penpa Tsering. The persecution of Uighur Muslims in China, evoked by activist musician Rahima Mahmut. Finally, the threats against democratic Taiwan, recalled with clarity in videoconference by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu.
For its first meeting, Friday, October 29, in Rome, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) hit hard. This network of some 200 deputies and senators from all sides and from many countries was born in 2020, on June 4, the anniversary of the Tiananmen repression.
On Friday, the IPAC received the support of Taiwanese Minister Joseph Wu, whose presence in Brussels, unconfirmed, caused the worried runaway of the chanceries. “IPAC is moving in the right direction, did he declare. Likewise, the European Union [UE] has pledged to strengthen its political ties with Taiwan, which is a historic milestone. The European Commission has also shown its support. We must continue. “
The representative of Taipei recalled the Chinese military’s record military incursions into the island’s defense area this year, the relentless political pressure. “China is trying to destroy democracy. Taiwan is on the front lines. We must not let this happen. I encourage parliamentarians to come. ” With him, this week, two other Taiwanese ministers and business leaders were received in the Czech Republic. Wu stressed that his government was encouraging investment in Europe, especially since the freezing of the EU-China trade agreement, the fate of which has been plagued by the sanctions taken by China against European parliamentarians, in response. to those decided by the EU in support of the Uighurs. “In doing so, China has only strengthened our resolve on human rights”, notes the Belgian deputy Samuel Cogolati, targeted by Beijing.
“It is up to Parliaments to act”
The IPAC took advantage of the G20, which met this weekend in the Italian capital, even if it remains lucid about its ability to be heard there, as the British conservative Iain Duncan Smith underlined. This Brexit figure, maker of Boris Johnson’s campaign in 2019, regrets seeing China “Treated like a normal nation in the G20, despite practicing large-scale human rights abuses.” And to add, to the address of heads of state: “Just because you don’t want to talk about it doesn’t mean these problems will go away! “
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