Taiwan accused Kenya on Wednesday of human rights abuses against its nationals attending a global oceans conference in Mombasa and blamed China for exerting pressure on the East African country.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the scholars’ passports and mobile phones were confiscated and they were detained for more than 20 hours before being deported.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei said it “strongly protests and condemns China’s pressure on the Kenyan government to refuse Taiwanese scholars’ attendance at the international ocean academic exchange conference, as well as the barbaric acts of confiscating passports, mobile phones, and restricting personal and communication freedoms — actions that violate human rights and international norms.”
Kenya defended its decision to deport the Taiwanese nationals. Foreign Ministry Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said his country's foreign policy “recognizes only one China.”
“Any person purporting to hold a Taiwanese passport would ordinarily not be allowed through our borders for lacking proper documentation and would not in any event be part of a formal state meeting convened by Kenya government,” Sing’oei added.
Kenya is hosting the annual oceans conference, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution.
Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the U.S., the European Union and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part in the conference. Organizers have sought to position Africa — which is hosting the event for the first time — as a driving force in global ocean governance.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 as a result of a civil war. For decades, China has seen Taiwan as its own territory and said the island must come under its control, even under the use of force if necessary.
