BEIJING: The Chinese embassy in Britain on Sunday condemned a visit by British lawmakers to Taiwan, saying they insisted on visiting the island despite strong opposition from China.
The Taiwan Presidential Office said the group of six legislators from the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Monday.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military, political and economic pressure to enforce those claims.
A statement from China’s embassy in London said lawmakers “have pushed for a visit to China’s Taiwan region despite China’s resolute opposition”.
This is a “gross interference in China’s internal affairs and sends a serious wrong signal to Taiwan’s separatist independence forces,” the embassy said.
“We want to tell relevant British politicians that any act that harms China’s interests will certainly be vigorously opposed by China,” it added, without elaborating.
Taiwan regularly receives visiting foreign legislators, which China routinely condemns.
The government of Taiwan rejects China’s claims of sovereignty, saying only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.