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TAIPEI: Taiwan's former vice-president has accused China of blocking her visit to Egypt for an international forum, a report here said on Sunday.
Annette Lu, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), now in opposition, was scheduled to speak at the Liberal International congress in Cairo over the weekend, the Apple Daily said.
But Lu, who had a visa to the country, was notified by the Egyptian authorities that she would not be allowed in, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
"Of course, this has something to do with Beijing," Lu told the newspaper without elaborating.
Lu, who was also planning to visit Thailand en route to Egypt, also accused the Thai government of bowing to pressure from China to refuse her entry, it said.
Tensions mounted with China under the eight-year rule of the DPP, which ended in May 2008, over its policies pushing for Taiwan's independence from the mainland.
Most recently, the DPP incurred the wrath of China after it invited exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, labelled by Beijing a "splittist", to visit the island this summer.
China sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification after the island split from the mainland in 1949 after civil war.
But ties have improved markedly since Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou became president here last year.
- AFP/so
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