Beijing said stop but ‘very friendly’ Australia MPs went to Taiwan anyway

The Chinese foreign ministry had told Australia to ‘stop sending the wrong signal’ to independence forces on the self-ruled island

The cross-party Australian delegation are set to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. PM Anthony Albanese has sought to play down the visit

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The cross-party delegation of six Australian lawmakers were expected to meet Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (centre) during their five-day visit to the self-ruled island. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:38pm, 6 Dec 2022Updated: 3:49pm, 6 Dec 2022

A group of Australian lawmakers has landed in Taiwan, Taipei’s foreign ministry confirmed on Tuesday, defying warnings from Beijing over the visit at a time of rising tensions over the self-ruled island.

“There is a group of bipartisan members of the parliament from Australia currently visiting Taiwan. They are already here,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou told reporters.

The delegation will “discuss a wide array of issues of mutual interests”, she said without providing further details.

“We appreciate that the Australian parliament is very friendly to Taiwan,” Ou said, calling Taipei’s relationship with Canberra “robust, diverse and mutually beneficial”.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sought to play down the significance of the Taiwan trip. Photo: Bloomberg

The group left on Sunday for a five-day visit to Taiwan, according to a spokesman for one delegation member, risking China’s ire just as Beijing-Canberra relations appeared to be thawing.

The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday expressed opposition to the trip, calling on Australia to adhere to its one-China principle and “stop sending the wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces”.