New Delhi, May 4 -- The U.S.-based organizers of an international human rights conference said they canceled it days before it was due to open because China pressured the African host country to exclude Taiwanese activists.

Access Now, the New York-based advocacy group that organizes the annual gathering, said late Friday it had canceled the RightsCon summit in Zambia that was due to take place next week after the Zambian government initially said it was postponed.

Access Now said it had been informed by Zambian officials that the government had been pressured by China over the conference "because Taiwanese civil society participants were planning to join us in person." Access Now said it pushed back on any move to exclude delegates fro...