NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga -- The Pacific Islands Forum secretariat released an altered joint communique on Saturday that removed a reference to Taiwan, following comments by China's Pacific envoy that called the section "unacceptable."
The joint communique, detailing outcomes from this week's Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting, appeared online on Friday with paragraph 66 of the document stating the leaders "reaffirmed the 1992 Leaders decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China," a reference to when the body made Taiwan a "development partner" of the group, an arrangement that started the following year.
