"Golden Age Is Over" British MPs Head to Taiwan

China "Will Respond Strongly"... Possibility of Armed Provocation

Photo by UPI Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Yujin] Following the UK’s announcement of a tough stance against China, British Members of Parliament visited Taiwan. After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, parliamentary officials from the US, France, Germany, and other European countries have been visiting Taiwan one after another. China declared a strong response, calling it interference in its internal affairs.

According to major foreign media on the 1st (local time), members of the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee visited Taiwan on the 29th of last month and met with Premier Su Tseng-chang. A meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen is scheduled for the 2nd.

The UK side officially stated that this visit is part of reviewing its Indo-Pacific diplomatic policy, but it is interpreted as a visit to support Taiwan. According to the UK public broadcaster BBC, the Foreign Affairs Committee said they discussed the increasing threat from China and domestic and international issues during the visit.

The visit by British parliamentarians came shortly after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a tough stance on China in his first major foreign policy speech since taking office. In his speech on the 28th of last month, Sunak declared, "The so-called golden era with China, accompanied by the naive belief that trade would lead to social and political reform, is over."

He further described China as a "systematic challenge" to the UK’s values and interests and stated, "Short-term attitudes or hopeful thinking are not enough in the face of such challenges. We will make an evolutionary leap in our approach." This was interpreted as a signal that China would no longer be regarded as an economic partner but as a potential threat.

In response, China immediately protested. The Chinese Embassy in the UK stated that the visit by British parliamentarians to Taiwan is a comprehensive interference in China’s internal affairs and that it will strongly respond to anything that damages China’s interests. In a statement that day, the embassy said that despite China’s firm opposition, the visit blatantly violates the "One China" principle and sends a seriously wrong signal to forces seeking Taiwan independence.

The conflict between the two countries surfaced following an incident where a BBC journalist covering anti-zero-COVID protests in China was assaulted. On the 27th of last month, reporter Ed Lawrence was detained by public security in Shanghai during coverage, handcuffed, and reportedly beaten while in custody.

In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted that the BBC journalist did not identify himself as a reporter nor present a press card and refused the police’s request for identification.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, a delegation from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), formed to check China’s influence, visited Taiwan for four days starting on the 1st. The delegation included parliamentarians from the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Kosovo, and Ukraine. In August, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ranked third in US power hierarchy, visited Taiwan, which escalated tensions with China threatening military responses.