President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Canada for its support during recent Chinese military drills and praised the deepening of ties between the two sides, shortly ahead of a visit to China by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Two lawmakers from Carney’s Liberal Party this week ended a visit to Taiwan early, citing advice from the Canadian government and to “avoid confusion with Canada’s foreign policy” before Carney visits Beijing starting today.
Meeting the three remaining members of the delegation, from the opposition Conservative Party, Lai said that over the past three years, Taiwan and Canada have made substantive progress in areas such as trade and technology, including the signing of a landmark investment agreement in 2023.
Photo: CNA
“Bilateral relations continue to deepen and yield fruitful results,” Lai said at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
He also expressed appreciation for the Canadian government’s public concern over last month’s Chinese war games around Taiwan.
“I would like to thank the Canadian government for soon releasing a statement expressing its concern and opposing any unilateral attempt to change the ‘status quo,’” he added.
“This once again demonstrated that maintaining the peaceful and stable ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait is not only in the interest of all parties, but also the international consensus,” he said.
Canadian warships on occasion sail through the Taiwan Strait, most recently in September last year.
Lai made no mention of Carney’s visit to China.
Melissa Lantsman, deputy coleader of Canada’s Conservatives, told Lai that Taiwan is a trusted partner.
“We are here with a clear and sincere purpose to say to Taiwan and the people of Taiwan that you have friends in Canada’s parliament,” she said.
In a statement on Monday, the two Liberal Party members — Helena Jaczek and Marie-France Lalonde — said they would end their trip to Taiwan early.
“As this portion of the visit concludes, informed by advice from the government, we are returning home,” their statement said. “It’s important that we avoid confusion with Canada’s foreign policy, given the overlap with the prime minister’s engagement in Beijing, which was only confirmed last week.”
They said Canada’s position on Taiwan has not changed.
Asked about the departure of two ruling party lawmakers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said some members of the delegation had to leave early “for some reason.”
“The foreign ministry continues to welcome friends from all walks of life to visit Taiwan, and we will continue working with Canada to further deepen exchanges and cooperation across all fields,” Hsiao said.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said that Canada is a democratic country with lawmakers who are able to make autonomous decisions.
The world is watching Beijing’s diplomatic coercion, he added.
Carney is to discuss trade and international security while in China, at a time when Canada faces uncertain relations with the US due to a trade war and annexation threats from US President Donald Trump.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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