In a Guardian opinion piece that comes days after Liz Truss said Chinese actions “threaten peace and stability in the region”, Zheng Zeguang wrote that Taiwan has become a “rock” for bilateral relations which he warned were “at an important juncture.” “The Taiwan issue is a major issue of principle. There is no reason for the UK to ignore this fact and follow in the US’s footsteps. Calls to ‘help Taiwan defend’ and the like are extremely irresponsible and harmful.” He added: “The Chinese people will resolutely safeguard, at any cost, their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Taiwan independence” means war and will lead to a stalemate.” The Chinese government insists that Taiwan is a province of China and has not ruled out taking it by force if necessary. The island’s democratically elected president, Tsai Ing-wen, said Taiwan is already a sovereign country that does not need to declare independence. Zheng’s comments came as Beijing staged a new round of military exercises on Monday in response to a brief visit by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers to Taiwan earlier in the week. Their visit – led by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey – came less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit prompted China to hold unprecedented days of live-fire drills. The veteran Chinese diplomat defended his government’s action, which drew condemnation from the UK. Zheng argued that it was “only natural for China to take the necessary measures in response.” He accused the US and “Taiwan independence separatist forces” of being “perpetrators” and said they “must bear full responsibility for their wrongdoings”. Calls for support for Taiwan have grown in recent years as China’s relations with Western democracies have soured. Last week Truss said China’s actions “threaten peace and stability in the region.” She also ordered her senior officials to summon Zheng to explain Beijing’s actions. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The foreign secretary and Conservative leadership hopeful said the UK and partners had condemned “in the strongest possible terms China’s escalation in the region around Taiwan, as seen in our recent statement to the G7”. He also urged Beijing to resolve any disputes “through peaceful means.” Meanwhile, a group of senior MPs from the Commons’ foreign affairs committee are preparing for a visit to Taipei later this year, which Zheng has strongly opposed. “The Taiwan issue has always been a sensitive issue at the heart of China-UK relations,” Zheng wrote in the Guardian opinion piece, recalling in London the Sino-UK joint communiqué signed in 1972 when the two countries began exchanging ambassadors . The UK has its own version of the ‘one China policy’, meaning it does not have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. “This history must never be forgotten and commitments must be kept,” Zheng urged, adding that Beijing’s “one China principle” is the “political foundation for the development of relations between China and all its countries world”. China and the United Kingdom began exchanging ambassadors in 1972, following the signing of a bilateral agreement. London also closed its consulate in Taipei that same year. According to the agreement, the British government “recognized the position of the government of the DPRK [People’s Republic of China] that Taiwan was a province of China and recognized the government of the PRC as the only legitimate government of China.” The UK said, according to a Foreign Office memo, that position remains “the bedrock” of London’s relationship with Taipei. “We do not deal with Taiwanese authorities on a government-to-government basis and avoid any action that could be taken to imply recognition,” it said. On 14 July 2020, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said on behalf of the British government that UK policy on Taiwan “has not changed”. This means the UK does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, “but a strong informal relationship based on strong trade, educational and cultural links”, he said.
