SEOUL (Reuters) – China rebuked South Korea on Monday over Taiwan’s participation in a U.S.-backed democracy summit in Seoul, where the island’s Digital Affairs official Audrey Tang sent a video message without early warning.
Tang told the third Democracy Summit that Taiwan has suffered disproportionately from concerted cyberattacks and that the island was willing and able to work with all stakeholders to ensure that artificial intelligence develops in a safe and sustainable way.
Taiwan is a major global supplier of semiconductor chips essential for these technological applications.
The conference being organized by South Korea is an initiative by US President Joe Biden, with the aim of finding ways to prevent democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory although the island rejects its sovereignty claims, said it firmly opposes South Korea inviting Taiwan to participate.
“There is only (only) one China in the world,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.”
He called on Seoul to respect the one-China principle and stop providing a platform for Taiwanese independence forces to boost their prestige.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond when asked about Lin’s comments.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has sought a greater alliance with the United States. However, China is the country’s largest trading partner, and Yoon has also been trying to calm Beijing to avoid widespread economic fallout.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park, Hyonhee Shin, and Josh Smith in Seoul, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, and Liz Lee in Beijing)
Tags: China protests Taiwan officials participation USbacked summit South Korea
