Senior Taiwan official makes rare trip to China

Taipei – Taiwan’s labor minister traveled to China for an APEC ministerial meeting on Sunday, the first such trip by a senior Taiwanese government official since President Lai Ching-te took office two years ago.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to take the self-ruled island by force if necessary.

Beijing has branded Lai — whose Democratic Progressive Party rejects China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan — as an independence separatist and has halted formal communication with Taipei for a decade.

With China hosting this year’s APEC, there were concerns that Taiwan could be blocked from participating in the international forum.

Taiwanese Labor Minister Hung Sun-han took a 5:50 pm flight on Sunday to the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, where he will attend meetings on Monday before returning home, his ministry said.

Chen Binhua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press briefing this month that Taiwan’s participation in APEC meetings and activities would be handled in accordance with the “one-China principle.”

Hung said this week that his visit to China would follow “the existing pattern” and be based on “the principle of parity and dignity.”

“APEC is a very important international, multilateral economic and trade forum for us,” Hung said.

The Taiwanese delegation will “share their experience and expertise in labor issues and human resources with other APEC member economies during the meeting, Hung said.

Hung did not have plans to travel to other Chinese cities during his trip, the Labor Ministry said.

Taiwan’s government said members of its delegation have already taken part in APEC meetings in various Chinese cities this year, including a May trip to Suzhou by then-top trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni.

These ministerial meetings will culminate in November at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, where world leaders including Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet.

APEC represents 21 member economies and is one of the few international bodies in which Taiwan holds full membership.

Taiwanese presidents have over the years appointed special envoys to attend the flagship summit on their behalf.