Chinese diplomats are putting pressure on representatives of at least six countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, not to attend the summit to be held in Taiwan.
Politicians in Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and another Asian country told The Associated Press that they were receiving texts, calls and urgent meeting requests aimed at dissuading them from traveling to Taiwan.
The summit starts on Monday and is being hosted by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China, a group of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing.
The Associated Press spoke with organizers and three lawmakers and reviewed texts and emails sent by Chinese diplomats asking officials if they planned to attend the summit.
"I'm Wu, from the Chinese embassy. We heard that you received an invitation from IPAC, will you attend the conference that will be held next Sunday in Taiwan," read the message sent to Antoni Milososki, a member of the parliament of North Macedonia.
"They sent a direct message to the president of my party to prevent me from traveling to Taiwan," said Sanela Klarić, a member of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Klarić said that the message to the party president read "I will advise you not to go, but I can't stop you, you have to make your own decision" and added that she "hates the feeling when someone tries to intimidate her".
China routinely threatens retaliation against politicians and countries that support Taiwan, which has only informal relations with most countries due to Chinese diplomatic pressure.
Representatives from 25 countries are expected to attend this year's summit and hold high-level meetings with Taiwanese officials, according to a press release.
Neither China's nor Taiwan's foreign ministries immediately responded to AP's request for comment about the messages that prospective summit participants have received in recent days.
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