Taiwan Labour Minister Visits China for APEC Meeting in Nanjing — SkimNews
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- Hung Sun-han, Taiwan's labour minister, departed on Sept 20 for Nanjing to attend an APEC human resources ministerial meeting — the first ministerial-level visit to China of President Lai Ching-te's administration.
- The trip comes as China conducts near-daily military operations around Taiwan and has rejected Lai's repeated offers of talks, labeling him a "separatist"; Lai maintains that only Taiwan's people can decide the island's future.
- APEC is one of the few international forums Taiwan belongs to, where it participates under the name "Chinese Taipei" — a designation China typically renders as "China Taipei" over Taipei's objections.
- Hung, a former Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker and vocal advocate on Hong Kong and Tibet human rights, travelled without making media comments, reflecting the sensitivity of cross-strait engagement.
- Taiwan's president traditionally skips the APEC leaders summit to avoid political friction, sending former officials or business leaders such as TSMC founder Morris Chang instead.
- China is hosting the 2026 APEC cycle, with the leaders summit scheduled for November in Shenzhen; Taiwan has not yet announced who will represent it there.
- China views Taiwan as one of its provinces, not an independent country, a stance that frames every Taiwan official's appearance on Chinese soil as diplomatically delicate.
Why it matters: The visit underscores that Taiwan continues to engage with China through multilateral forums even as Beijing intensifies military activity around the island and refuses dialogue with Lai. With the November Shenzhen leaders summit approaching and Taiwan yet to name its representative, the choice of who Taipei sends will be a fresh test of cross-strait diplomatic maneuvering.
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