Taipei, May 13 – Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will visit Britain this week at the invitation of British lawmakers, her office said on Sunday, in a sensitive trip that comes as London seeks to stabilize relations with Beijing and China intensifies diplomatic pressure on the self-governed island.
Tsai, who stepped down in May 2024 after serving two terms, is seen as a symbol of Taiwan’s resistance to growing Chinese military and political threats. She is currently in Lithuania and is expected to travel to Denmark before arriving in Britain later this week, according to a statement from her office.
The visit is intended to “deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Britain,” the statement said. Tsai, who earned a doctorate from the London School of Economics, will meet with British lawmakers, though specific names and details of the meetings were not disclosed.
Britain, like most countries, does not maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province with no right to statehood. However, London and Taipei have strengthened economic and political cooperation in recent years, even as China presses its claim over the democratic island.
Last year, the two sides signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership Arrangement, and the UK has reportedly provided assistance for Taiwan’s indigenous submarine programme, a centrepiece of Tsai’s efforts to bolster the island’s defenses.
Britain’s Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal working hours. China’s foreign ministry also did not issue an immediate statement.
Tsai had originally planned to visit London in October 2024, but the trip was postponed to avoid overlapping with a visit by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Beijing, as Britain was then seeking to recalibrate its strained ties with China. Her previous visits to countries including France, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Canada have drawn sharp rebukes from Beijing, which regularly denounces Tsai as a “separatist.”
Despite lacking formal diplomatic recognition, Taiwan views Britain as a key democratic partner and supporter of its international engagement. The upcoming visit underscores Taipei’s push to strengthen unofficial ties with Western democracies amid growing pressure from Beijing.
