In a statement released on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in London condemned a trip to Taiwan by the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee, calling it a breach of the “One China” concept.
A delegation from the House of Commons visited Taipei.
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“in disregard of China’s firm opposition,” the embassy said, adding that such a “flagrant violation of the one-China principle and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs” sends a “seriously wrong signal” to separatists on the island.
“Moves of the UK side that undermine China’s interests will be met with forceful responses from the Chinese side,” the embassy added, requesting that London refrain from meddling in Beijing’s internal affairs.
The Conservative MP Alicia Kearns serves as the delegation’s leader. According to Reuters, Kearns invited the Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang to London “to see more of our people, our culture, and our communities and how we aim to represent our communities in parliament.” Tsai Ing-Wen, the president of Taiwan, will meet with the group on Friday.
The British MPs are continuing the tradition of previous American delegations that have openly disregarded China’s warnings and visited the island, beginning with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early August. US politicians have been lobbying for more arms shipments to Taiwan, despite the fact that London and Washington declare they still adhere to the “One China” policy outlined in a number of communiques signed in Beijing.
In April, during her lone significant foreign policy speech during her brief term as prime minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss openly urged for a “global NATO” to arm the island similarly to how it was supplying Ukraine.
Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party suffered a crushing loss at the hands of the opposition Kuomintang in Taiwan’s local elections last week, forcing the president to step down as party leader.
Taiwan is regarded by the Beijing administration as being a part of Chinese territory. The US-backed nationalists, who fled the mainland after losing the civil war to the communists, have been in charge of the island since 1949, though.
