New Zealand expresses concern after China bans its lawmakers who visited Taiwan

SYDNEY – New Zealand said on June 4 it would express its concerns to Beijing after China banned four New Zealand lawmakers from entry following their visit to Taiwan in May.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand lawmakers had visited the democratically governed island for decades.

“Such visits are not inconsistent with New Zealand’s One China policy,” the spokesperson said, referring to its policy since 1972 of recognising Beijing as the sole government of China.

“In the context of that long history, the minister was surprised to learn that China has taken a decision to, for the first time, impose travel bans on New Zealand MPs as a result of travel to Taiwan.”

Peters instructed New Zealand Foreign Ministry officials in Beijing and Wellington to discuss the matter with the Chinese authorities “to express concern at this departure from past practice and to better understand it”.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned China’s “retaliatory” measures, adding that Beijing has no right to interfere in Taipei’s interactions with “international friends”.

“Parliamentary diplomacy is a normal practice among democratic nations,” it said in a statement, urging China to stop pressuring and interfering with elected legislators from countries who engage in exchanges with Taiwan.

New Zealand and China have maintained a largely stable relationship in recent years, with China remaining New Zealand’s largest trading partner, even as Wellington has grown more outspoken about Beijing’s expanding influence in the Pacific.

Senior politicians from both countries have exchanged a number of visits over the past three years, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visiting China in 2025.

China views Taiwan as its own territory, and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

“MPs are not ordinary citizens,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in New Zealand in a statement on its website.

“China has consistently opposed visits to China’s Taiwan region by members of the legislatures of countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including New Zealand, and this case is no exception,” the spokesperson said.

“The New Zealand side should not be surprised.”

‘Foreign interference’

The Chinese embassy informed MPs that four lawmakers had been banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau for a year, according to an e-mail from the Office of the Clerk, which administers New Zealand’s Parliament.

The ban targeted three lawmakers from the ruling centre-right coalition, Laura McClure, David Wilson and Maureen Pugh, along with opposition Labour lawmaker Duncan Webb.

The Chinese embassy told New Zealand Parliament officials the travel ban could be reduced or waived if the lawmakers apologised for the trip, the e-mail said.

McClure told The New Zealand Herald the travel ban was “a type of foreign interference”.

“I’m not going to apologise for visiting Taiwan,” she said.

A New Zealand Parliament official confirmed a meeting with Chinese embassy representatives but did not disclose details.

Like most countries, New Zealand has no formal ties with Taiwan.

Under New Zealand’s Constitution, Members of Parliament are independent of the government and make their own travel decisions when invited. REUTERS