TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.K. Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee revealed on Thursday (Feb. 10) that it will send a delegation to Taiwan in late February.
The 9-member delegation is expected to depart London on the Feb. 19 and will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花), National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), and other senior officials of government ministries, CNA reported. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat, who is part of the delegation, said the purpose of the visit is to demonstrate the U.K. will firmly defend Taiwan’s democratic values.
The last time the U.K. Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee visited Taiwan was in 2006, when former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was in office.
Tugendhat said he was looking forward to visiting Taiwan. The democratic values exhibited by Taiwan are facing stronger pressure from Beijing than ever before, he said.
A U.K. parliamentary trip to Taiwan is long overdue, the foreign affairs committee chairman said. Not only will a visit show that the U.K. stands with Taiwan, but it will also allow MP’s to learn from Taiwan.
The East Asian nation is on the front line of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) war for influence and the U.K. is also a victim of CCP-related activities, he said.
This will be the first time Tugendhat will visit Taiwan. He is one of five U.K. MPs who were sanctioned by China in March.