Taiwan Minister Makes First Lai-Era China Visit

Taiwanese Labor Minister Hung Sun-han traveled to Nanjing to attend an APEC human resources meeting, becoming the first Cabinet-level official from President Lai Ching-te’s administration to visit mainland China. The trip is taking place under heightened cross-strait tensions, with Beijing rejecting Lai’s offers of talks, calling him a separatist and maintaining frequent military activity around Taiwan. Taiwan says Hung’s visit is an official APEC duty and that it will participate as a full member under the name “Chinese Taipei,” based on equality, reciprocal dignity and established APEC rules. Hung’s low-profile departure reflects Taipei’s effort to preserve practical economic and labor cooperation while avoiding an appearance of making a political concession to Beijing. Although some Taiwanese officials view the trip as a modest step for cross-strait relations, analysts caution that participation in a multilateral forum does not signal a resumption of direct official dialogue, which remains largely suspended.