{
  "id": 8682513,
  "title": "Taiwan’s minister makes rare trip to China for Apec event",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/taiwans-minister-makes-rare-trip-to-china-for-apec-event-8682513",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T11:56:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/09/20/taiwan-s-minister-makes-rare-trip-to-china-for-apec-event"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Taiwan's labour minister, Hung Sun-han, embarked on a rare visit to China on Sunday to attend an Apec event, marking the inaugural ministerial-level trip of President Lai Ching-te's administration. This comes as China intensifies its military and political pressure on Taiwan. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping is one of the few international bodies Taiwan is a member of, with China set to host the annual leaders summit in Shenzhen in November. China has dismissed Hung's previous invitations to dialogue, branding him a \"separatist,\" and maintains a daily military presence near Taiwan. Lai, however, maintains that only Taiwan's populace can determine their destiny. The labour ministry announced that Hung would be attending an Apec human resources ministerial meeting in Nanjing, China's eastern city. Specific details surrounding the visit were not provided by the ministry, and Hung did not interact with Taiwanese media upon departing the airport. China's Taiwan Affairs Office has yet to comment on the matter. Prior to his current role, Hung served as a legislator for Lai's Democratic Progressive Party and was a vocal proponent of issues such as human rights in Hong Kong and Tibet. Taiwan participates in Apec under the designation \"Chinese Taipei,\" which it also employs for Olympic representation, despite China's customary use of \"China Taipei,\" a term Taiwan rejects. Lower-tier Taiwanese officials have already participated in other Apec gatherings in China, a nation that considers Taiwan its province, rather than an independent country. The identity of President Lai's representative at the Shenzhen summit remains undetermined.",
  "summary": "The labour ministry confirmed that minister Hung Sun-han had left for China, where he will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation human resources ministerial meeting in Nanjing.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Taiwan’s minister makes rare trip to China for Apec event",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/taiwans-minister-makes-rare-trip-to-china-for-apec-event",
        "published": "2026-09-20T11:56:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}