U.K. lawmaker voices support for Taiwan during meet with Lai

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) U.K. Labour Party lawmaker Sarah Champion expressed her support for Taiwan during a meeting with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in Taipei on Tuesday.

According to a readout released by the Presidential Office following the closed-door meeting, Champion said preserving Taiwan's sovereignty was in the common interest of both the United Kingdom and the world.

Champion, the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group co-chair, said she was pleased to see the U.K. House of Commons adopt a motion last November rejecting Beijing's interpretation of United Nations Resolution 2758.

Beijing claims that the U.N. resolution "confirmed" its "one China" principle, which asserts there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is "an inalienable part of China."

Champion added that she hoped other countries would also render their support for Taiwan, according to the readout.

Lai, meanwhile, thanked the U.K. government and its country's lawmakers for voicing concerns over the security and stability of the Indio-Pacific region and expressing opposition to any unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Looking ahead, Lai said his government would continue working to deepen bilateral relations with the U.K. and jointly contribute to global peace and stability.

The president also said he looked forward to negotiations on investment, digital trade, renewable energy and net-zero transition between the two sides, which he hoped would proceed smoothly and result in agreements soon.

These issues are part of the "pillars" under which Taiwan and the U.K. will negotiate separate cooperation deals, as outlined in the Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) arrangement signed in November 2023.

At that time, Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations described the ETP as "historic" because it marked the first time Taiwan established a trade and economic "framework" with a European country to boost bilateral ties.

Joining Champion were Lord Purvis of Tweed, a member of the unelected House of Lords, and House of Commons members Ben Spencer, Yuan Yang, Helena Dollimore, Noah Law and David Reed.

The seven-member group, which arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 15, was also scheduled to meet with former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the opposition Kuomintang, among other officials, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.