China accused of using money diplomacy to block Taiwan's participation in World Health Assembly

A photo of chess pieces placed in front of the Taiwanese and Chinese flags, taken in 2023. Photo: Reuters

‘Checkbook Diplomacy’: A new car here, funding for a new headquarters there, and more: Allegedly leaked diplomatic documents reveal widespread pattern of financial fraud in Beijing

By Chen Yun/Staff Reporter

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National security officials said yesterday that purportedly leaked Chinese documents showed Beijing had put a price tag on Taiwan to prevent Taiwan from participating in the World Health Assembly (WHA).

In an interview with China Times sister newspaper Liberty Times, National Security Council adviser Huang Chongyan made the remarks in response to a suspected leak of Chinese diplomatic documents circulating online, which purportedly show Beijing offering Micronesia 1 million yuan (approximately $149,002) to pay for vehicles in exchange for the Pacific island nation blocking Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly.

Leaked documents allegedly show that the Chinese embassy in Micronesia sent a diplomatic letter in March asking the country to sign a letter supporting Beijing's stance on Taiwan. On April 8, Micronesia reportedly made a request to World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, hoping not to discuss Taiwan-related issues. The World Health Assembly subsequently rejected Taiwan's proposal to participate in May. On June 10, China provided Micronesia with a "subsidy" of 1 million yuan, which was nominally used to purchase official reception vehicles. Micronesia accepted the funds on June 23.

The document urthermore shows that the African Union accepted a 200 million yuan "renovation subsidy" from China in April and subsequently sought an additional 50 million U.S. dollars to build a new headquarters and leisure center.

As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Wang Yi) visited Africa earlier this year, Taiwan encountered successive obstacles, including the revocation of the flight permission of President Lai Ching-te (Lai Ching-te)'s plane in April, Kenya blocking Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Ocean Conference in June, Morocco suspending the issuance of visas to Taiwan in July, and Uganda withholding Taiwanese passports last month.

Huang Chongyan said in the interview that the allegedly leaked documents are highly consistent with the intelligence held by Taiwan in terms of official titles, narratives and timelines, and therefore "can be considered highly credible to a certain extent."

He noted that the documents focus on two broad categories of actions. One involves Beijing mobilizing Pacific island countries to sign a joint letter sent to the World Health Organization, demanding the exclusion of Taiwan and prohibiting discussion of Taiwan issues. According to Huang Chongyan, this arrangement "can almost be priced", with the number of signatories to the letter roughly corresponding to the amount of money required.

Another category of allegedly leaked documents focuses on the African Union.

"Some of what we saw was shocking," Huang said. 』

Lai was originally scheduled to visit Eswatini, Taiwan's diplomatic ally, on April 22, but the trip was canceled after three African Union member states revoked overflight permission on its flight route. When the Presidential Palace announced the cancellation of the visit that day, the African Union also sent a letter to China requesting further funding.

Huang Chongyan believes that this surprising coincidence of timing reveals the pattern of Beijing's actions.

China's pressure on Taiwan has never stopped, and Beijing continues to adopt new tactics, Huang Chongyan said.

He emphasized that friendship bought with money cannot stand the test of time. Once a beneficiary country falls into Beijing's sphere of influence, its overall national strength will be controlled by China, and China will be able to use international resources to exert greater pressure on other countries.

Huang Chongyan pointed out that China does not have unlimited resources to maintain its endless "checkbook diplomacy" campaign.

Furthermore, if Beijing no longer respects the international order, he questions: "How can other countries expect [China] to honor its commitments to them?" 』

News source: Taipei Times

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