Eleven MPs Receive Warning From Beijing Consulate After Attending Taiwanese Event

Eleven local Australian MPs attending a function to commemorate the inauguration of the new Taiwan President Lai Ching-Te in Sydney, Australia on May 20, 2024. (Rachel Qu/The Epoch Times)

Beijing has emailed the 11 NSW MPs who attended a gala dinner celebrating the inauguration of new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-Te, urging them not to recognise the democratically elected island as separate from the mainland.

The email, from an unnamed consular official in Sydney, is titled, “Concerns Regarding Attendance at the Taiwan-related Event.”

It said the consulate “firmly opposes” their attendance at a local celebration of Mr. Lai’s accession.

It went on to suggest that the politicians could be risking Australia’s ties with China, its largest two-way trading partner.

“The Consulate-General hopes that you will adhere to the fact that ‘Taiwan is a province of China’ and properly handle Taiwan-related issues with prudence,” the letter stated.

The email was sent from a Gmail address listed on the Consulate’s website under its “Political & Media Affairs” section.

The message was first seen by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

MPs Hugh McDermott (Labor), Rod Roberts (independent), and the Liberal Party’s Jordan Lane, Rachel Merton, Chris Rath, Tim James, Ray Williams, Jacqui Munro, and Mark Coure all confirmed they received the same email.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said local MPs would not be “bullied” by the CCP.

“We’re not going to be in a situation where any Labor MP is going to be bullied or intimidated about going to a function, that’s their job as a member of parliament,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

Intention to Intimidate

David Cheng-Wei Wu, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney told The Epoch Times that Beijing’s intention was clearly to intimidate “the democratically elected MPs and suppress press freedom.”

It was another example of the CCP’s “authoritarian expansionism,” he said, and “reveals its blatant attempt to undermine the democratic values that Australia upholds. No one should ever accept authoritarian coercion and bullying.”

He claimed Beijing disliked the MPs attendance at the pro-Taiwan event “because it challenges their narrative and attempts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.

“The event celebrated Taiwan’s democratic achievements, which stand in sharp contrast to the authoritarian nature of the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” he said.

“By attending the event, [they] demonstrated support for Taiwan’s democracy and sovereignty, highlighting the common values between Taiwan and Australia.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong made no comment on the Consulate’s email, but last week defended the right of federal MPs to attend the inauguration in Taipei.

“Australia adheres consistently to our longstanding and bipartisan One China policy,” she said at the time.