Vancouver, May 2 (CNA) A warning from a Chinese diplomat about Canadian lawmakers visiting Taiwan and naval ships passing through the Taiwan Strait has ignited strong reactions from Canadian officials.
In an interview released Thursday by the , Wang Di (王鏑), China’s ambassador to Canada, stated that the “strategic partnership” resumed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with China in January would be “damaged” if Ottawa sends more military vessels through the Taiwan Strait or if Canadian parliamentarians keep meeting with officials in Taiwan.
Wang noted that Canadian parliamentarians hold official status and it would be “hurtful” for them to engage with officials in Taiwan.
“Any official engagement between China and Canada should only happen between the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” the envoy told the newspaper.
“Sending warships through the Taiwan Strait and doing harassment and even provocation, of course, that is in violation of the One China principle, and that also violates China’s territorial integrity,” Wang was quoted as saying.
The article mentioned that two Canadian parliamentarians who traveled to Taiwan in January as part of a delegation cut their trip short just before Carney’s visit to China from Jan. 13-17, marking the first such visit by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.
However, Wang’s comments spurred several Canadian parliamentarians to express support for stronger ties with Taiwan.
Canadian Senate Opposition Leader Leo Housakos from the Conservative Party, who led a delegation to Taiwan in April, shared the interview on X, formerly known as Twitter. He wrote: “I’m proud to say that I was in Taiwan, meeting with their lawmakers, just a couple of weeks ago. My second visit in recent years. And I will go again.”
Conservative Party co-deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, who last visited Taiwan in January, also commented on X: “You don’t bargain with bullies. Send more MPs. Send more ships. That’s the only response to a ‘warning’ from a ‘strategic partner.'”
Former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole attended the Yushan Forum in Taiwan in March and also expressed his thoughts: “I was very happy to visit Taiwan in March to participate in the @yushanforum and I hope Canadians – including elected officials – never cease to travel to or engage with Taiwan because of intimidation like this.”
Taiwan’s Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) responded on Friday during an interview by regarding Wang’s comments.
“It’s not that you have a bigger voice, and you are the winning side,” Tseng was quoted as saying.
“I don’t think this kind of proclamation unilaterally from the Chinese envoy will be a good approach to be honest,” he told while addressing Wang’s call for Canadian parliamentarians not to meet officials in Taiwan.
Tseng also disputed Wang’s assertion that transits by Canadian vessels through the strait violated China’s territorial integrity.
“It’s totally untrue according to the International Law of the Sea; your territorial waters is 12 nautical miles out of your coast, and then another 12 nautical miles,” Tseng was quoted as saying. “That’s what they call a contiguous zone.”
(By Cheng Ai-fen and Sean Lin)
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