Taipei, June 19:
Taiwan has accused China of pressuring Kenya to block Taiwanese experts from attending the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, describing the move as diplomatic intimidation.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, academics who had been officially invited by Kenyan authorities participated in a pre-conference event but were later denied access to the main conference after Kenyan officials refused to recognise their Taiwanese passports.
Taiwan alleged that the delegates were detained for nearly 20 hours, with their passports and mobile phones confiscated before being allowed to leave. The government lodged a formal protest with Kenya and urged China to stop actions that hinder international cooperation and exclude Taiwan from global forums.
Taiwan also criticised the decision as contrary to the conference’s principles of inclusivity and cooperation, eventually withdrawing from the event after being excluded despite participating since 2015.