China lashes out visit by U.K. Trade Minister to Taiwan

The U.K. should “earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, uphold the one-China principle, stop any forms of official contacts with Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.

China lashed out on November 7 over a visit to Taiwan by British Trade Policy Minister Greg Hands, the latest foreign official to defy Beijing’s warnings over contacts with the self-governing island republic.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to annex it by force. It also seeks to isolate it diplomatically, requiring governments that it has formal relations with to respect its “one-China" principle.

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The U.K. should “earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, uphold the one-China principle, stop any forms of official contacts with Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing.

The British government said Mr. Hands was on a two-day visit during which he would meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and co-host the 25th annual trade talks between the sides. China has imposed visa bans and other forms of retaliation against foreign officials and governments that extend contacts to Taiwan.

Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with just 14 nations and is excluded from the United Nations and other major multinational groupings at Beijing’s insistence. Yet, its thriving democracy, high-tech economy and strategic location in the Asia-Pacific have drawn strong support in spite of Beijing’s condemnations and threats.

Following a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House and second in line to the Presidency, China fired missiles over Taiwan into the Western Pacific and positioned aircraft and ships nearby in a virtual blockade of the island.