Taiwan Representative To Attend Australian Labor Party National Conference?
According to Australian newspaper The Nightly, an official from Taiwan's representative office in Canberra will attend the Australian Labor Party's national conference for the first time. While unconfirmed, experts say this could be a positive sign that party-level engagement between the two sides is deepening.
The Australian Labor Party is set to hold its national conference later this week, with one report saying a Taiwanese official could attend.
Australian newspaper The Nightly reported that the official is from Taipei's representative office in Canberra.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has not yet confirmed the report.
If true, it would be the first time a Taiwanese official has attended the ruling Labor Party's national conference, which is held every three years to set key policies, including on foreign affairs.
This comes as Beijing has reportedly been pushing Canberra to block Taipei's request to open a new representative office in Perth, putting Australia's unofficial ties with Taiwan under pressure.
It also follows news that Papua New Guinea's foreign minister consulted his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, before abruptly ordering Taiwan's economic office in his country to shut down earlier this month... a move largely seen as an attempt to appease Beijing.
ROY CHUN LEE, CIER (Taipei)
At this moment, I think there is a clear message that, at least at the party political level in Australia, they feel more comfortable in engaging with Taiwan in a more formal setting. But as all democratic countries, party level politics, party level debates don't always translate into government or national policies.
The Australian government described Taiwan as an important economic partner for many Pacific Islands countries, when responding to TaiwanPlus' request for comments on Papua New Guinea's recent move.
But it emphasized that it respects the right of all nations to make decisions about their engagement with other economies.
As China steps up pressure on countries to limit their engagement with Taiwan, and Taipei seeks to deepen its presence in the Pacific, the Labor Party's national conference could offer a glimpse into how Australia balances its unofficial ties with Taiwan and its broader relationship with China.
