Taiwan's labor minister came back from an APEC meeting in Nanjing saying Taiwan was treated as an equal member, a mild win for Taipei at a time when cross-strait contacts are rare.

• Hung Sun-han is the first Taiwanese minister to travel to China under President Lai Ching-te.
• He said China, as host, followed APEC rules and gave Taiwan the same rights as other members.
• He entered China on the meeting invitation, not a Chinese-issued travel permit for Taiwanese.
• On the "Chinese Taipei" name card, he said that is Taiwan's official APEC membership name and equal rights matter more than the label.
• Ministers agreed a joint statement on jobs and AI, including retraining workers as technology moves fast.

Outlook: Taipei will point to this trip as proof it can take part in regional forums on equal terms, and will look for more labor and AI cooperation with other APEC members.