China’s embassy in Ottawa criticized the trip to Taiwan of Canadian MP Michael Chung, who said his visit was partly aimed at “affirming Canadian sovereignty” after China’s ambassador warned against future visits by parliamentarians.
“Canada is a sovereign and independent country,” Chung said in a statement on Sunday, the day he arrived in Taipei. “We do not receive guidance from a foreign government about where Canadian MPs can travel internationally, and where Canadian Navy warships can transit in international waters.”
Zhong was referring to a warning issued by China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, during an interview with The Globe and Mail last month.
Wang warned that the strategic partnership announced after the visit of Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be harmed if Canada sent more warships through the Taiwan Strait or if more members of parliament visited Taiwan.
He also did not appear to distinguish between parties, saying that no MPs should be allowed to visit. Chung is a conservative foreign affairs critic.
The Chinese embassy said that such a visit sends “a wrong message of support for Taiwan independence.”
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“The visit of some members of the Canadian Parliament to the Taiwan area and his meetings with officials of the Taiwan area authorities seriously contradicts Canada’s commitment to one China and sends a wrong message of support for Taiwan independence. China firmly opposes this,” the embassy wrote in a statement to Global News.
China claims sovereignty over democratically-governed Taiwan and says it has jurisdiction over the waterway, which is about 180 kilometers wide and divides the two sides.
Canada, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but both countries maintain physical embassies in their respective capitals.
Carney announced a preliminary agreement with China in January on electric vehicles and canola oil, a partnership that Wang appeared to refer to in his remarks.
By issuing the warning, China is trying to “assert” itself and “try to move red lines,” Michael Kovrig, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, told Global News.
He added: “The ambassador is trying to say that you cannot continue doing what you were doing before, and if you do that, we will be angry with you.” But Kovrig added that Chung is also reiterating his own position.
“Michael Chung also confirms that he does not represent the government of Canada, and he has full authority to go and visit Taiwan and meet with whomever he wants, and the matter is not within the jurisdiction of the Chinese government,” Kovrig said.
Chung, who serves as the Conservative Party’s foreign affairs critic, plans to visit Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te while there.
Taiwan remains a contentious issue between China and multiple countries, including Canada, the United States and many parts of Europe.
The issue came to light last week when Xi visited the United States and met with President Donald Trump, with the Chinese leader warning Trump that the two countries could clash over the self-governing island if it is not handled properly.
The Trump administration has approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, but has not yet begun implementing it.
The United States has a long-standing commitment to helping the island defend itself if it comes under attack, but Trump has shown greater ambivalence toward Taiwan, raising speculation about whether the president could be persuaded to withdraw US support.
Lai said on Sunday that arms purchases from the United States are “the most important deterrent.”
“We thank President Trump for his continued support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait since his first term, including the continued increase in the volume and quantity of arms sales to Taiwan,” he said.
The embassy said in its statement that the autonomous island and the “principle” of one China are considered “the political basis and inviolable red line” of relations between Canada and China.
“We urge Canada to seriously ‘adhere’ to its one-China commitment, effectively restrain any words or actions that violate the one-China principle, and refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs,” an embassy spokesperson wrote.
In his statement, Chung stressed the need to oppose this warning.
“To remain silent and compliant in the face of intimidation is to internalize this behavior, embolden tyranny, and weaken democracy,” Chung said. “It is not enough to simply declare sovereignty; sovereignty must be exercised.”
—With files from Global News’ Nathaniel Dove, The Associated Press and Reuters
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