Taiwan's foreign minister warned that Beijing's systematic campaign to isolate the island democracy from international forums has become routine, following an incident in Kenya where Taiwanese delegates were detained for more than 20 hours and barred from an ocean conference.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung said attempts by China to exert pressure or influence on other countries to limit Taiwan's access to international events has become "the new normal." The statement came after two Taiwanese delegates to the international Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa were denied access on the grounds that their Taiwanese passports were not recognized, according to Taiwan's Foreign Ministry in Taipei on Tuesday.
Detention and Diplomatic Fallout
The delegates had their passports and mobile phones confiscated and were detained for more than 20 hours before being allowed to leave the country, the ministry said. The rest of the Taiwanese delegation withdrew from the conference after the incident. Kenya defended its decision to deny access to the Taiwanese nationals, with Foreign Ministry Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei saying his country's foreign policy "recognizes only one China."
Lin criticized Kenya for its "unilateral distortion and unwarranted expansion of their so-called 'One China' interpretation," referring to Beijing's claims over Taiwan. "Kenya's obstruction of our delegates from attending the meeting is absolutely wrong, and we strongly condemn and protest against it," Lin said. China has not commented on the accusations.
Pattern of Exclusion
China has long tried to limit Taiwan's representation in international bodies, including the World Health Organization and its governing body, the World Health Assembly. At the Olympic Games, Taiwan is forced to participate under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to Beijing's pressure. Lin said China is increasingly pressuring other countries to exclude Taiwan, especially when it comes to developing and emerging economies that are under Beijing's economic sway.
"Some Global South countries are manipulated by the Chinese government in every way," Lin said. "Some democratic countries are trying to fight against it." Kenya is hosting the annual oceans conference, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution. Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the U.S., the European Union and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part in the conference. Organizers have sought to position Africa — which is hosting the event for the first time — as a driving force in global ocean governance.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy. For decades, China has seen Taiwan as its own territory and said the island must come under its control, even under the use of force if necessary.
Why This Matters:
Beijing's expanding diplomatic coercion demonstrates how authoritarian regimes leverage economic influence to reshape international norms and exclude democratic partners from global forums. The detention of Taiwanese delegates at a technical conference on ocean governance reveals the extent to which China will go to enforce its territorial claims, even when doing so undermines the stated purpose of international cooperation. For democracies and market economies, Taiwan's systematic exclusion from bodies like the World Health Organization and now environmental conferences represents a troubling precedent where economic dependency trumps sovereign nations' ability to engage with all legitimate international partners. The incident underscores the strategic challenge facing Western nations: how to maintain rules-based international order when authoritarian powers use financial leverage to compel compliance with their political demands, potentially compromising global cooperation on issues from public health to environmental protection.