The U.S.-based organizers of an international human-rights conference in Zambia said it was called off days before it was due to open after they were told the Zambian government came under pressure from China to exclude Taiwanese civil-society participants. Access Now, which organizes the annual RightsCon summit focused on human rights and technology, said it canceled the 2026 event scheduled for next week after Zambia initially postponed it.
Access Now said it was informed by Zambian officials that China pushed for the exclusion “because Taiwanese civil society participants were planning to join us in person.” The group said it opposed any effort to bar Taiwanese delegates and described a government request that, in its view, would require altering both participation and subject matter.
In a statement, Access Now said the information it received indicated that Zambian officials wanted organizers to “moderate specific topics and exclude communities at risk, including our Taiwanese participants,” from both in-person and online participation. The group said it believed “foreign interference is the reason RightsCon 2026 won’t proceed in Zambia.”
The Zambian government had earlier announced it was postponing RightsCon, saying it wanted information about the conference themes and topics to ensure they aligned with the country’s “national values, policy priorities and broader public interest considerations.” Access Now said the episode involved China’s influence, and the AP report said Zambia has strong political and economic ties with China, including through Chinese mining interests in the mineral-rich southern African country.
Access Now said RightsCon is an annual gathering addressing issues that can include internet censorship, electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare. The group said more than 2,600 participants were expected to attend in Zambia and another 1,100 were set to participate online, representing more than 150 countries. It said last year’s summit was held in Taiwan.
After the cancellation was announced, Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-jing said on Facebook that the decision showed China’s unease over “the ideas of freedom, democracy and rule of law that Taiwan and RightsCon represent.” Human Rights Watch also said Zambian authorities should explain their actions.
The move came amid heightened regional attention to Taiwan’s diplomatic standing in Africa. AP reported that just a week earlier, Taiwan said Beijing intervened to prevent Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te from visiting Eswatini on April 22, a trip that was called off after Taiwan said China pressured several other countries—Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles—to withdraw permission for Lai’s plane to fly over their territory, a sequence for which China’s Foreign Ministry praised the nations’ “adherence to the one-China principle.”