UK House of Commons Mentions Taiwan as 'Independent Country' for First Time... China Urges Compliance with 'One China' Principle

Report Released as UK Foreign Secretary Visits China for the First Time in 5 Years

As the UK Foreign Secretary visited China for the first time in five years, the UK House of Commons officially referred to Taiwan as an 'independent country' for the first time. Chinese diplomatic authorities immediately protested, urging to "adhere to the 'One China' principle."

According to the US political media outlet Politico on the 30th, the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a report stating that "Taiwan is already an independent country using the official name Republic of China." The committee explained that Taiwan already meets all the qualifications to be considered a country, such as a permanent population, defined territory, government, and the ability to establish relations with other countries, but it is simply not recognized by the international community.

James Cleverly, UK Foreign Secretary (left in the photo), and Han Zheng, Vice President of China, are shaking hands in Beijing, China, on the 30th.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The committee also criticized the UK government for not being bold enough to support Taiwan and argued that the government should prepare sanctions with allies to prevent China's military actions and economic blockade against Taiwan, which supplies 90% of the world's advanced semiconductors.

Furthermore, it pointed out that the UK should cooperate with Japan and Taiwan to establish a trilateral cooperation system related to cyber and space defense capabilities and should also strive for Taiwan's comprehensive and progressive membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). It added that, like Germany, which disclosed its China strategy, the UK government should also make it public so that both the public and private sectors can follow it.

Alicia Kearns, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Politico that this is the first time the UK parliamentary report has declared Taiwan an independent country, stating, "The Foreign Affairs Committee is aware of China's position of not recognizing Taiwan as a country but does not accept it." At the same time, she emphasized, "The Foreign Affairs Committee supports the message to authoritarian regimes worldwide that sovereignty cannot be obtained through violence or coercion, as well as British values."

The UK House Foreign Affairs Committee report was released as the UK Foreign Secretary visited China for the first time in five years. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is officially visiting China from this day onward at the invitation of Wang Yi, member of the Communist Party Political Bureau and Foreign Minister.

Relations between the UK and China had deteriorated during the tenures of former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, but since the Rishi Sunak cabinet took office in October last year, relations are considered to have somewhat improved. There is also interest in whether the UK will directly raise human rights issues in China during this long-awaited visit. It has been reported that Secretary Cleverly intends to bring up human rights issues in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong during this visit.

However, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protested the House of Commons report on the same day, urging adherence to the 'One China' principle.

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing, "Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory, and the One China principle is an internationally recognized norm of international relations and the political foundation of China-UK relations." He criticized the UK parliamentary report as "a distortion of right and wrong and a mixing of black and white."

Spokesperson Wang urged, "China calls on the UK Parliament to abide by the One China principle, safeguard China's core interests, and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces," adding, "The UK must fulfill its political commitments regarding the Taiwan issue to maintain the healthy and stable development of China-UK relations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.