BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese embassy in Britain on Sunday condemned a visit this week by British lawmakers to Taiwan, saying they were insisting on visiting the island despite strong opposition from China.
Taiwan’s presidential office said the group of six lawmakers from the British-Taiwanese all-party parliamentary group will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Monday.
China views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military, political and economic pressure to enforce these claims.
A statement from the Chinese Embassy in London said lawmakers “insisted on visiting the Chinese region of Taiwan despite China’s resolute opposition”.
It is a “blatant interference in China’s internal affairs and a serious wrong signal to the pro-independence separatist forces in Taiwan”, the embassy said.
“We want to say to concerned British politicians that any act that harms China’s interests will certainly be vigorously opposed by China,” he added, without giving further details.
Taiwan regularly hosts visiting foreign lawmakers, which China regularly condemns.
The Taiwanese government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.
Taiwan’s presidential office said the group of six lawmakers from the British-Taiwanese all-party parliamentary group will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Monday.
China views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military, political and economic pressure to enforce these claims.
A statement from the Chinese Embassy in London said lawmakers “insisted on visiting the Chinese region of Taiwan despite China’s resolute opposition”.
It is a “blatant interference in China’s internal affairs and a serious wrong signal to the pro-independence separatist forces in Taiwan”, the embassy said.
“We want to say to concerned British politicians that any act that harms China’s interests will certainly be vigorously opposed by China,” he added, without giving further details.
Taiwan regularly hosts visiting foreign lawmakers, which China regularly condemns.
The Taiwanese government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.
