TAIPEI — Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is sounding the alarm over what she describes as a relentless campaign by China to isolate Taiwan on the world stage, speaking out Friday after Papua New Guinea announced it would be closing Taiwan’s representative office in the Pacific nation.
“Our diplomatic situation is truly extremely difficult. China is suppressing us everywhere — suppressing our chances to survive and to expand our international space,” Hsiao told reporters in Taipei.
Despite the setback, the vice president vowed Taiwan would keep pushing forward. “For us, this is a setback, but we will still continue to strive — to strive for opportunities, whether for our overseas compatriots or to continue expanding our cooperation with the international community,” she added.
The announcement from Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko on Thursday drew swift praise from Beijing and sharp condemnation from Taipei. Like the vast majority of countries around the world, Papua New Guinea maintains official diplomatic relations with China rather than Taiwan.
The Pacific region has long been a flashpoint for rivalry between Beijing and Taipei. China considers Taiwan part of its own territory and does not recognize it as a sovereign state, a position Taiwan firmly rejects.
With this latest development, only 12 countries now formally recognize Taiwan diplomatically. Three of those nations are located in the Pacific — Palau, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade acknowledged the Papua New Guinea announcement in a statement, saying officials are aware of the decision. “We will seek further information about this decision in due course,” the statement read, offering no additional details.
Both Taiwan and Papua New Guinea hold membership in APEC, the Asia-Pacific economic forum. Port Moresby served as host of the group’s annual leaders’ summit in 2018, an event that a Taiwan government envoy attended.
Papua New Guinea briefly recognized Taiwan diplomatically back in 1999. Taiwan also continues to operate a representative office in Fiji.
Tensions in the region are not new. In 2020, a Taiwanese diplomat was hospitalized in Fiji after two Chinese diplomats forced their way into a reception in an apparent attempt to identify who was in attendance.
