China on Tuesday blasted a democracy conference in Copenhagen attended by Taiwan's president and a Hong Kong activist alongside Danish government officials this week, qualifying it a "political farce".

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated "the one-China principle."

"This summit is a political farce," the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published Tuesday.

"Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong 'independence' to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China's internal affairs," it said.

"Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries' internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of 'democracy' and 'freedom'. They are bound to fail," it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was "deplorable" that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle -- under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei -- though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China's sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan's air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

"Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our democracy," Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday.

US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

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Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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Washington weighs risk of defending Taiwan against China
Washington (AFP) May 6, 2021
US President Joe Biden is expected to announce his strategy toward China soon, and calls are growing for him to make a clear public commitment to defend Taiwan militarily in the event of Chinese aggression. China considers Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, to be a rebel province that will one day return to the mainland's fold, by force if necessary. The United States, which has diplomatically recognized Beijing since 1979, has maintained relations with Taipei and remains its most imp ... read more