The British government should make clear that former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is welcome to visit, a member of the British Parliament said following a report yesterday that the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had requested that the visit be “deferred” to avoid angering China.
The Guardian reported that the FCDO asked that a visit by Tsai be postponed to avoid angering Beijing ahead of British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy’s trip to China.
Tsai yesterday departed for a trip to Europe, during which she would give a speech at the Forum 2000 Conference in Prague, before visiting the European Parliament in Belgium, as well as reportedly France.
Photo: Reuters
The trip is Tsai’s first overseas visit since she left office in May.
While the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group had been in talks to host Tsai in the UK this month, the plans were postponed after the FCDO indicated it could scupper Lammy’s imminent trip to China, the Guardian reported, citing three sources.
Lammy is to travel to China next week for high-level meetings in his first trip to the country as foreign secretary.
“We got a note from the FCDO via the Taiwanese representative to the UK,” the Guardian quoted a person who had been involved in the discussions to host Tsai as saying. “It said: ‘Please can you defer this for a while because the foreign secretary is about to make a ‘goodwill visit’ to China and this would absolutely put the kibosh on it.’”
The plans for Tsai’s UK visit have been postponed until spring next year. While the British Parliament does not need London’s permission to organize it, the group was hoping the government would facilitate the trip, including by providing security.
British House of Lords member Frances D’Souza, a member of the group who in May attended President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration, said she hoped Tsai would still visit.
“We very much hope to host former president Tsai Ing-wen in parliament in the near future. While we understand the political sensitivities, parliament is a democratic forum open to many different voices and views,” D’Souza said.
British lawmaker Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, said Taiwan is an “important and valued partner for the UK, and we should do all we can to strengthen ties.”
“I hope the government will make it clear to former president Tsai, whom I met while on a parliamentary delegation visit to Taiwan, that she is indeed very welcome here,” he added.
“Ministerial travel will be confirmed in the usual way. We do not comment on speculation,” an FCDO spokesperson said.
The Taipei Representative Office in the UK did not respond to a request for comment.
A delegation of Labour Party lawmakers led by Sonny Leong (梁辛尼) traveled to Taiwan and met with Tsai in April, shortly before she stepped down as president.
In response to media queries, Tsai’s office said that the former president “is currently on an international visit, and considering the overall plan, she will arrange a visit [to the UK] at an appropriate timing.”
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