Labor Minister to attend APEC meeting in China as parties trade "united front" accusations

Sep 01, 2026

Taiwan's political fight over cross-strait contact flared again after word that Labor Minister Hung Sun-han plans to attend an APEC human resources meeting in Nanjing this month — awkward for the ruling DPP, which has called such trips Beijing's influence work.

  • Hung is expected to travel to China in late September in his official capacity as minister.
  • TPP chairman Huang Kuo-chang accused the DPP of a double standard: everyone else's exchanges are called united front work, its own are fine.
  • He pointed at DPP lawmaker and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen, who has said all such exchanges are united front tactics.
  • Huang framed his party's position as backing healthy, sustainable, equal-footing contact with China.
  • The trip has not been officially confirmed, and Huang noted he was reacting to a magazine report.

Outlook: Expect the DPP to be pressed to explain the trip, with the row feeding into the run-up to Taiwan's local elections.

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