Ministry brushes off Beijing's complaints about Taiwan visit

Beijing is upset with Seoul after a group of Korean lawmakers visited Taiwan. But the Foreign Ministry brushed off the controversy. “There is nothing to be said at the level of our government about the individual activities of the members of the...

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei on Dec. 27, 2022, announcing an extension in mandatory military service from four months to one year, saying the island needs to prepare for the increasing threat from China [AFP/YONHAP]

Beijing is upset with Seoul after a group of Korean lawmakers visited Taiwan. But the Foreign Ministry brushed off the controversy.

“There is nothing to be said at the level of our government about the individual activities of the members of the National Assembly,” said Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, in a press briefing Thursday.

People Power Party Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae led a bi-partisan delegation of parliamentarians including deputy speaker of the Assembly Chung Woo-taik to Taiwan from Dec. 28 to 31, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry announced last Saturday.

Cho and the delegation met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen as well as with the president of the Legislative Yuan, the unicameral legislature, and discussed the North Korea issue as well as security in the Taiwan Strait.

“Since May last year, South Korean officials have repeatedly reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in international forums,” said the Foreign Ministry in Taiwan in a statement last Saturday.

The recent trip was the first visit by Korean lawmakers to Taiwan since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The last took place in November 2019, also led by Cho.

Lawmakers from the United States, France and Japan have been traveling to Taiwan and meeting with Tsai in recent months, prompting protests by Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province that shouldn't be recognized as an independent country.

“[The visit] is in serious violation of the one-China principle and the spirit of the China-Republic of Korea Joint Statement on Diplomatic Relations and runs counter to the development of friendly relations between China and the Republic of Korea,” said the Chinese Embassy in Seoul in a statement Thursday. “China expresses resolute opposition and strong protest against this.”

Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim said Thursday that Korea continues to respect the one-China policy, and that “China is well aware of this position of Korea.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]