BEIJING — Taiwan's labor minister is traveling to mainland China to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, even as relations between the two sides deteriorate. Tension across the Taiwan Strait is rising over the trip because the minister has previously described China and Taiwan as effectively two separate countries.
Hung Sun-han, minister of labor, will attend the APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, for two days starting on the 21st, Hong Kong's Ming Pao reported on the same day. It is the third visit to mainland China by a Taiwanese cabinet-level official this year.
Luo Wen-jia, secretary-general of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, said on the 18th that he hoped Hung would "return safely." He said Hung was attending an international organization's activities in line with APEC practice, adding that "there is a certain tacit understanding between the two sides, and the fewer variables the better."
Attention is focused on how Beijing will respond, given Hung's past remarks framing cross-strait ties as a relationship between two states. As a lawmaker in 2024, Hung said "two sovereign states exist on either side of the Taiwan Strait," effectively defining cross-strait relations as state-to-state. China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has previously said Taiwan participates in APEC meetings and activities under the name "Chinese Taipei" and that related matters are handled under the "one China" principle and APEC memorandums of understanding.
Visits to mainland China by Taiwanese cabinet officials have continued since the Lai Ching-te administration took office. In May, Yang Chen-ni, a minister without portfolio in the Executive Yuan, attended the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade in Suzhou, and on the 10th and 11th of this month, Vice Economic Affairs Minister Lai Chien-hsin attended the APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting in Beijing.
The APEC human resources development track that Hung is attending covers changes in labor markets, vocational training, and employment and social security policy. Labor market policy and human resources development in response to artificial intelligence, automation and demographic change are among the main agenda items in this year's APEC discussions.
