Beijing said on June 4 that it barred a group of New Zealand lawmakers from entering China after they visited officials in Taiwan in May, accusing them of interfering in Chinese domestic affairs.
New Zealand voiced concern over the barring of the four MPs, who visited as part of a cross-party delegation, noting its lawmakers have paid visits to Taiwan for decades.
But Beijing’s embassy in Wellington said the delegation had defied repeated warnings in traveling to the self-ruled island, where they met with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim.
“The actions of these MPs violate the one-China principle and constitute interference in China’s internal affairs,” an embassy spokesperson said, referring to Beijing’s position that it is the sole legitimate government of China, including Taiwan.
“Whoever crosses the red line on the Taiwan question will face the consequences,” the spokesperson added.
China claims self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes the democratic island’s participation in international organizations and exchanges with other countries.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters’s office denied the visit violated his government’s position on the status of the island democracy.
He defended the MPs’ right to visit Taiwan and said he had instructed the nation’s diplomats “to express concern at this departure from past practice and to better understand it.
While Wellington does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, “this does not preclude New Zealand from maintaining trade, economic, cultural and indigenous exchanges,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns” the ban, insisting “China has no right to interfere” in its international interactions.
