WASHINGTON, 24 Nov, (Asia Free Press) US President Joe Biden on Wednesday has invited Taiwan to a virtual summit on democracy with more than 100 countries. However, China is not in the invited countries.
The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democratic and “authoritative governments” at the heart of his foreign policy.
The “Summit for Democracy” will take place online on December 9 and 10 ahead of this year, according to Agency France Press.
The meeting was long advertised, but the guest list — published Tuesday on the State Department’s website — will be closely scrutinized.
America’s principal rivals China and Russia, formerly the USSR, are not on the list issued by the State Department of America.
However, the United States did invite Taiwan, which America does not recognize as an independent country but holds up as a model democracy.
China’s deterrent at any use of the word “Taiwan” grants a sense of international authenticity to the democratic self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize.
The US move is guaranteed to increase tensions between the two superpowers further.
“I agree Taiwan more than qualifies- but it does seem to be (the) only democratic govt invited that the US govt does not officially recognize. So its inclusion is a big deal and a big question mark,” tweeted Julian Ku, a Hofstra University law professor, having a specialty in China Affairs.
India, often called “the world’s biggest democracy,” will be present despite increasing criticism from human rights defenders over democratic backsliding under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan, despite its checkered relationship with Washington, was named in the Guest-List.
In the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq were invited. The traditional Arab allies of the US like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are all absent.
Biden also invited Brazil, which is nowadays led by controversial far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed by State Department.
