by Francis Tuschek, Staff Writer
The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has altered its final communique to remove a reference to Taiwan, after a senior Chinese diplomat publicly criticized the document. Organizers have blamed the wording on an error.
The group of 18 island nations, along with Australia and New Zealand, convened in Tonga last week. The initial version of the joint statement released early on Friday included a paragraph that “reaffirmed the 1992 Leaders decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China,” which allows Taipei to have representation at meetings as a “development partner.”
China, which has the higher status of a “dialogue partner” at the PIF, considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and opposes any statements that it perceives as elevating the self-governed island on the world stage. Beijing’s ambassador to the Pacific, Qian Bo, lashed out at the wording, calling it “a surprising mistake” that “must be corrected.”
His call was apparently heeded, as the PIF secretariat removed the document from the forum’s website and replaced it with a new version, in which the relevant paragraph was deleted in its entirety. A spokesperson for the organization blamed an error for the incident.
“The version as finalized does not change nor impact the decisions of the meeting, nor any standing decisions of the forum leaders,” the statement said. “The communique is a consensus-based document, reflecting the agreed decisions and views of all [members].”
Nations in the PIF have conflicting stances on Taiwan’s status. Three – Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu – have diplomatic ties with Taipei, while 15 take the side of Beijing.
Taiwan’s de facto autonomy stems from the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, during which nationalist forces retreated to the island, while the communists took control of the mainland.
Taipei has condemned the PIF’s alteration of the language, accusing Beijing of making a “rude and unreasonable intervention” and “irrational behavior.”
Kiribati Education Minister Alexander Teabo, who headed his nation’s delegation at the summit, lamented that the issue had marred the event.
“Taiwan and China have their own internal politics… and now pushing it into the forum,” he told Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
第53屆太平洋島嶼論壇（PIF）在一位中國高級外交官公開批評該文件後，已修改其最終公報，刪除了對台灣的提及。主辦方將措辭的變更歸咎於錯誤。
這個由18個島國及澳大利亞和新西蘭組成的團體，上週在湯加召開。週五早些時候發布的聯合聲明初稿中包含一段“重申1992年領導人關於與台灣/中華民國關係的決定”，該決定允許台北在會議上作為“發展夥伴”參與。
中國作為PIF的“對話夥伴”擁有更高的地位，視台灣為其領土的一部分，並反對任何被其視為提升這個自治島嶼在國際舞台地位的聲明。中國駐太平洋大使錢波對此措辭表示強烈不滿，稱其為“驚人的錯誤”，必須“加以更正”。
他的呼籲顯然得到了重視，因為PIF秘書處已將該文件從論壇網站上刪除，並用新版本替換，其中相關段落已被完全刪除。該組織的發言人將此事件歸因於錯誤。
“最終確定的版本不改變也不影響會議的決定，或任何論壇領導人的既定決定，”聲明中表示。“公報是一份基於共識的文件，反映了所有[成員]的商定決定和觀點。”
PIF成員國對台灣地位的立場存在分歧。三個國家——帛琉、馬紹爾群島和圖瓦盧——與台北有外交關係，而15個國家則支持北京。
台灣的事實自治源於20世紀40年代的中國內戰，當時國民黨軍隊撤退到該島，而共產黨則控制了中國大陸。
台北譴責PIF修改措辭，指責北京進行“粗魯和不合理的干預”以及“非理性行為”。
基里巴斯教育部長亞歷山大·提博，作為其國家代表團的領導，對這一問題使事件蒙上陰影表示遺憾。
“台灣和中國有他們自己的內部政治……現在將其推進論壇，”他告訴新西蘭廣播電台（RNZ）。
