Foreign Secretary Greg Hands will visit Taiwan on Monday. He will meet Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen and co-chair the annual trade talks between the United Kingdom and Taiwan. China does not like other countries to maintain ties with Taiwan.
“A personal visit to Taiwan is a clear signal that the United Kingdom is committed to boosting trade relations between the UK and Taiwan,” the Ministry said in a statement. “Like the United Kingdom, Taiwan is a supporter of free and fair trade, based on the rules of a global trading system.”
Taiwan has also hosted US politicians in recent months, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The visits are an annoyance to China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.
But the Taiwanese government believes that China cannot claim the island, because Taiwan was never ruled by the Chinese Communist government in Beijing. The Chinese communists founded the people’s Republic of China in 1949, after winning the civil war from the nationalists. The Nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan and formed their own government in the city of Taipei.
The United Kingdom has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but does maintain close economic and informal relations with the island. The UK also has an embassy in Taipei.
