Taiwan condemns China’s ‘wolf warrior’ behaviour at Pacific forum

By Ben Blanchard and Yi-Chin Lee

TAIPEI, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung condemned China’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy at this week’s forum of Pacific Islands leaders, and said Chinese officials had also engaged in espionage at the event.

This year’s meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum was overshadowed by China’s objections to the presence of Taiwan at the summit, saying Taipei was not qualified to attend and that its presence would have consequences.

Summit host Palau is one of three Pacific island countries with official diplomatic ties to Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Beijing says Taiwan is one of its provinces and not a country, a view the government in Taipei strongly rejects.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Friday, Lin said China’s remarks at the summit were not welcome.

“This kind of Chinese ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy actually easily undermines Pacific unity, and it is quite off-putting and disliked,” he said, adding that Taiwan and China were both invited guests.

“Wolf warrior” diplomacy, which takes its name from a popular Chinese movie franchise, refers to strong remarks by Chinese officials in public, marking a departure from the restraint generally seen previously.

China did not respect the host’s wishes and tried to make itself the host, Lin said.

“This kind of threatening language and behaviour — claiming there will be ‘serious consequences,’ even going so far as to declare Palau an ‘unsafe travel destination’ — is extremely absurd and ironic for Pacific nations,” he added, referring to a travel warning China issued for Palau last month.

Lin also expressed concern about Chinese officials’ activities at the summit.

“We saw that at almost every venue or event, there was Chinese presence — essentially engaging in a form of espionage,” he said.

“At the venue, in many places I went in and out of, there were plainclothes personnel and security personnel sent by the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, we are grateful to the Palauan side for specially strengthening security measures.”

China’s foreign ministry responded to a Reuters request for comment via social media.

The ministry accused Lin of “fabricating absurd narratives” in a bid to draw attention and online traffic for Taiwan-independence separatist activities.

It dismissed the comments as “nothing but a self-deceiving political performance” that would ultimately make Lin a “contemptible buffoon”.

Lin said he was confident Taiwan would continue to participate in the forum and win support, especially after Chinese actions such as July’s missile test in the Pacific.

“I believe the more China reveals its aggressive and domineering nature in the Pacific, the more it will generate support for Taiwan.”

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yi-Chin Lee; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Clarence Fernandez)