Kenya Detains and Deports Taiwanese Scholars at China's Behest

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Passports Seized, Scholars Locked Up

Taiwanese academics who traveled to Mombasa, Kenya, for a pre-conference event linked to the 11th Our Ocean Conference were stopped by Kenyan immigration officials and refused accreditation. Their passports and mobile phones were confiscated. They were held for more than 20 hours before finally being allowed to board a flight and leave the country.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Taipei issued a sharp condemnation of the incident, describing the treatment of its scholars as a violation of human rights and international norms. The ministry said the academics had been formally invited by Kenyan organizers and had already taken part in an academic exchange forum — presenting research — before being barred from the main conference and detained.

Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, which had planned to send an official delegation to the conference, canceled its participation entirely, citing both the Kenyan government's conduct and concerns over the safety of its members.

Taipei Points the Finger at Beijing

Taiwan's foreign ministry did not hold back in its assessment of who was responsible. Officials in Taipei characterized China's actions as those of a "gangster state" — using its diplomatic muscle to pressure a third country into shutting out Taiwanese participation in a scientific conference focused on ocean sustainability.

The ministry said the incident was a clear example of Beijing placing political interests above international cooperation on critical environmental issues. Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling warned that Taiwan would not be the only loser: the credibility of the Our Ocean Conference itself would suffer if accredited, long-standing participants could be excluded and detained without explanation.

Taiwan has attended the conference every year since 2015.

Nairobi Stands Behind Beijing

Kenya's government defended its actions without apology. Korir Sing'oei, Principal Secretary of the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, stated that his country's foreign policy recognizes only one China. He said anyone traveling on a Taiwanese passport would not ordinarily be admitted at Kenya's borders, as such documents are not recognized.

This is not a new position. Kenya has consistently aligned itself with Beijing on the Taiwan question. Just last month, Sing'oei publicly reaffirmed Kenya's "unequivocal" commitment to the One China Policy after the World Health Assembly rejected Taiwan's observer status for the tenth consecutive year.

Kenya's close economic ties to China help explain this stance. Over the past two decades, Beijing has become one of Nairobi's most important creditors and infrastructure partners, financing major projects like the Standard Gauge Railway.

A Pattern of Pressure

The Mombasa incident follows a troubling pattern. In 2016, Kenya deported dozens of Taiwanese nationals to mainland China in a case that drew international condemnation and accusations of what Taiwan's government called an "extrajudicial abduction." China's foreign ministry at the time praised Kenya for implementing the One China Policy.

The current case is somewhat different: this time, the targets are academics attending a multilateral environmental forum — not criminal suspects. That makes China's intervention all the more striking to observers, suggesting Beijing is willing to disrupt even scientific diplomacy to keep Taiwan isolated.

Conference Overshadowed

The 11th Our Ocean Conference was meant to be a milestone: the first time the annual event was held on African soil. Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable island nations attended. Topics on the agenda included illegal fishing, ocean biodiversity, and climate change.

Kenyan officials had presented the conference as a showcase of Africa's rising role in global ocean governance. The controversy surrounding Taiwan's exclusion has cast a shadow over that ambition — and raised questions about whether political considerations are being allowed to undermine the scientific mission of such events.

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Sources

1. AP News — Kenya accused of deporting Taiwanese conference delegates on China's behalf: https://apnews.com/article/kenya-taiwan-china-diplomacy-oceans-conference-8979cda8bd5c31d27e81dc643f6b298e

2. Taipei Times — MOFA blasts Kenya's detention of scholars under Chinese pressure (June 17, 2026): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/06/17/2003859242

3. Focus Taiwan / CNA — Taiwan withdraws from ocean conference after Kenya detains delegates (June 16, 2026): https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202606160024

4. Taipei Times — MOFA blasts China over exclusion from Kenya ocean conference (June 16, 2026): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2026/06/16/2003859209

5. Capital FM Kenya — Kenya Reaffirms One China Policy After WHO Assembly Rejects Taiwan Observer Bid (Mai 2026): https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2026/05/kenya-reaffirms-one-china-policy-after-who-assembly-rejects-taiwan-observer-bid-for-10th-straight-year/

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