China warned on Tuesday that it would take “coercive measures” if Canada intervenes in Taiwan, following news that a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians planned to visit the island later this year to explore trade opportunities. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory under the “one China principle”, opposes foreign politicians visiting the island. The Democratic Republic of Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims.
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Canada, like much of the West, follows a one-China policy that diplomatically recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, while unofficially supporting Taiwan. Story continues below ad Joly’s spokesman, Adrien Blanchard, said parliamentary associations and friendship groups make travel decisions independently and the Canadian government respects that. “As we have said before, the MPs’ trip should not be used as a pretext for escalation or aggressive military and economic actions,” Blanchard said. 0:25 China’s military threat remains, Taiwan’s president says China’s military threat remains, Taiwan’s president says – August 11, 2022 Last week, Canadian MP Judy Sgro said members of a Canada-Taiwan parliamentary “friendship group,” which receives no administrative or financial support from the Canadian parliament, planned to visit the self-governing island in October. Trending Stories
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“China will take decisive and forceful measures against any country that attempts to interfere or violate China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese embassy in Canada said in a statement sent late Tuesday. Defying warnings from Beijing, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei earlier this month in what was the highest-level visit to the US in 25 years. Story continues below ad China responded by staging war games near Taiwan for what it said was increased US support for the island that Beijing considers sovereign Chinese territory.
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Pelosi’s visit also brought attention to the usual interactions between the West and Taipei in the past. Canadian lawmakers made regular visits to Taiwan before the coronavirus pandemic halted travel. Sgro said the trip would focus on trade and the lawmakers’ intention was not to disrupt and create problems in Taiwan or with China. Her office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. “We encourage all parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and maintain open lines of communication to prevent misunderstanding,” Blanchard said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer and Ismail Shakil Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Sandra Maler)
