CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Access Now canceled the RightsCon summit in Zambia days before it was due to open after China pressured the Zambian government to exclude Taiwanese activists. The annual conference on human rights and technology had been expected to draw more than 2,600 in-person participants and another 1,100 online from over 150 countries.

The Zambian government initially announced that the conference was being postponed because it wanted information on the themes and topics of discussion to ensure they aligned with the country's national values, policy priorities and broader public interest considerations. Zambian officials later informed Access Now that they had been pressured by China because Taiwanese civil society participants were planning to join in person.

According to Access Now, the government wanted to moderate specific topics and exclude communities at risk, including Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation in order to lift the postponement. The organization pushed back on any move to exclude delegates from Taiwan.

"We believe foreign interference is the reason RightsCon 2026 won't proceed in Zambia," Access Now said. RightsCon addresses issues including internet censorship, electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare. Last year's summit was held in Taiwan.

Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-jing said the cancellation showed China's unease over "the ideas of freedom, democracy and rule of law that Taiwan and RightsCon represent." Zambian authorities should explain their actions, Human Rights Watch said.

Zambia has political and economic ties with China largely through Chinese mining interests in the southern African nation. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary and prohibits countries it has diplomatic relations with from maintaining formal ties with Taipei.

The Zambian government's decision came a week after Taiwan claimed that Beijing intervened to stop President Lai Ching-te from visiting Eswatini on April 22. The visit was called off after Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles were pressured by China to withdraw permission for his plane to fly over their territory, Taiwan said. "Adherence to the one-China principle is in full compliance with international law," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.