The Guardian-Foreign Office asked for UK visit by Taiwan ex-president to be deferred to not anger China
October 12, 2024 4 min 740 words
英国《卫报》的这篇报道主要内容是：英国外交部（FCDO）要求推迟台湾前总统蔡英文对英国的访问，以避免在外交大臣大卫拉米（David Lammy）下周访问中国之前激怒中国。英国台湾议会党团（APPG）原计划于本月接待蔡英文访问英国议会，但在英国外交部表示此举可能会破坏拉米即将对中国的访问后，该计划被推迟。这一事件对英国新工党政府造成了尴尬，因为其寻求在与中国的关系上与保守党执政时期有所不同。蔡英文本月的欧洲之行是她离任后的首次国际访问，她将访问布拉格和布鲁塞尔，并可能前往法国。 评论：这篇报道带有明显的偏见，试图制造一种英国政府屈服于中国压力的印象，并忽略了英国与台湾没有正式外交关系这一重要背景。报道中提到中国驻伦敦大使馆谴责英国议员访问台湾是“对中国内政的严重干涉”，但报道没有解释英国与台湾的关系，以及英国政府长期以来在这一问题上的立场，从而误导读者认为英国政府是对华软弱。此外，报道中还暗示中国对台湾的领土主张是强行吞并，而没有客观介绍台湾问题的历史和复杂性，以及中国政府为实现和平统一所做的努力。这篇报道也忽略了英国工党政府在处理对华关系时所面临的复杂性，包括在贸易气候变化和安全威胁等方面的考量。
The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) asked for a visit by the former Taiwanese president to be postponed so as not to anger China ahead of a trip by David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.
Lammy is due to travel to China next week for high-level meetings in his first trip to the country as foreign secretary.
The British-Taiwanese all-party parliamentary group (APPG) had been in talks to host Tsai Ing-wen, the former president of Taiwan, in parliament this month. But the plans for a visit were postponed after the Foreign Office indicated it could scupper Lammy’s imminent trip to China, three sources told the Guardian.
“We got a note from the FCDO via the Taiwanese representative to the UK,” said one person who had been involved in the discussions to host Tsai. “It said: ‘Please can you defer this for a while because the foreign secretary is about to make a “goodwill visit” to China and this would absolutely put the kibosh on it.’”
The revelation is embarrassing for the new Labour government, which has sought to improve relations with Beijing after they deteriorated under the Conservatives. Ministers are looking at restarting high-level economic dialogue with China and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is drawing up plans to travel to the country next year.
The plans for a visit by Tsai have been postponed until the spring. While parliament does not need the government’s permission to organise it, the APPG was hoping Whitehall would facilitate the trip, including by providing security. Parliamentary authorities had also been involved in the discussions.
Frances D’Souza, a crossbench peer who is a member of the APPG and attended the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, last spring, said: “We very much hope to host former President Tsai Ing-wen in parliament in the near future. While we understand the political sensitivities, parliament is a democratic forum open to many different voices and views.”
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the Labour chair of the defence select committee, said Taiwan was an “important and valued partner for the UK, and we should do all we can to strengthen ties”, adding: “I hope the government will make it clear to former President Tsai, whom I met while on a parliamentary delegation visit to Taiwan, that she is indeed very welcome here.”
Tsai is visiting several European countries this month in her first international tour since leaving office. She is due in Prague and Brussels in the next week and is also expected to go to France, according to reports.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Ministerial travel will be confirmed in the usual way. We do not comment on speculation.” The Taipei representative office in the UK did not respond to a request for comment.
The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has a longstanding unofficial relationship and a history of visits.
A delegation of Labour parliamentarians led by the peer Sonny Leong travelled to Taiwan and met Tsai last April, shortly before she stepped down as president. The visit was strongly condemned by China’s embassy in London, which accused the parliamentarians of “serious interference in China’s internal affairs”.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually come under Beijing’s control, and there are fears it will eventually try to annex the island by force.
Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China, sees itself as distinct and has its own constitution and democratically elected leaders, and has grown increasingly opposed to China’s claims of sovereignty over it. In the presidential election last January voters elected Lai, who has pledged to uphold Taiwan’s self-governing status.
In their approach to China, Labour ministers have argued that they want to collaborate with Beijing on areas including trade and climate change while remaining clear-eyed on the security threat and human rights concerns.
In its manifesto, Labour pledged to conduct a Whitehall audit of the UK-China relationship, which is under way. In the past Lammy has also committed to taking steps to recognise China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority as genocide.