Taiwanese participants slam Chinese 'disinformation' at Summit for Democracy

Diplomacy

Published: 20 Mar. 2024, 13:47

Taiwanese participants slam Chinese 'disinformation' at Summit for Democracy

Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang speaks via a video recording during a roundtable session of the third Summit for Democracy held at The Shilla Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

Taiwanese participants in the third Summit for Democracy in Seoul criticized Beijing for spreading “disinformation,” as China strongly opposed Korea’s invitation of Taipei representatives to the summit.

Audrey Tang, minister of digital affairs of Taiwan, and the youth representative for the country, Hsin-Tzu Yang, spoke out against China during speeches and roundtable sessions during the summit.

Tang, in a video message Monday, stressed the risk of cyberattacks in elections worldwide.

“Bad actors in the pay of authoritarians pulled out all stops, coming close to poisoning our information climates and interfering in the outcome — but the government and people of all political persuasions stood as one in the really insidious efforts to sow the seeds of division and discord,” said Tang, speaking of Taiwan’s presidential elections in January. “I am proud to say that in the year of balloting worldwide, we ably demonstrated what can be achieved by doubling down on democracy to free the future together.”

“China is trying to divide and undermine trust among democratic camps through spreading disinformation,” said Yang during a roundtable session Tuesday. “It is important to protect the internet space before China’s influences take effect.”

In response to Taiwanese representatives attending the three-day Summit for Democracy, which kicked off on Monday, China has expressed strong opposition to the invitation Korea has extended to the country.

“China resolutely opposes Korea’s invitation of Taiwanese authorities to the so-called democracy summit,” Lin Jian, the new spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a press briefing Monday. “There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an indivisible part of Chinese territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China.

“What the world needs now is not to promote division in the name of democracy but to strengthen unity and cooperation and promote international relations based on the purpose of the principles of the UN charter,” Lin continued. “China is willing to exchange and refer to other countries on democracy and other issues on the basis of mutual respect and make new contributions to the cause of democracy for humanity. Countries around the world should not break the unity of the international community, but should actively strive to live in harmony, cooperate and coexist.”

The Summit for Democracy is a U.S.-led multilateral gathering to boost solidarity and shared values among democratic countries, launched in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic by U.S. President Joe Biden. The first Summit for Democracy was held virtually and hosted by the United States. The second event was also held online and hosted jointly by the governments of South Korea, the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.

Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the summit is “not aimed at a specific country” in response to China’s comments and its opposition to the invitation of Taiwanese representatives.

“The Summit for Democracy is held to promote democracy and human rights and is not aimed at a specific country,” Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said in a regular press briefing. "Our government’s policy of respecting the One China policy remains unchanged.”

Lim further stressed that Tang and other Taiwanese officials speaking at the summit were participating in a “private capacity” and that Korea had previously communicated sufficiently with “relevant countries” before hosting the summit regarding invitations.

The summit, with the theme "Democracy for Future Generations," is set to hold a leaders' session over videoconference led by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday evening.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]