Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand defended Canada’s ties with Taiwan on Wednesday while carefully reaffirming Ottawa’s One China Policy stance, as Conservative MP Michael Chong met with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te amid mounting pressure from Beijing.  

“We have a long history of parliamentary delegations… we do have strong people-to-people ties with Taiwan and strong commercial ties with Taiwan at the same time,” Anand said during a press conference from Estonia. 

READ MORE: Taiwan speaks out against China’s envoy warnings against Canadian parliamentarian delegation 

Taiwan, a de facto autonomous island state, is regarded by the Chinese Communist Party as a rogue province that must be reunited with mainland China. 

Since 1970, Anand noted that Canada has operated under the One China Policy, which regards Beijing as China’s sole representative but still maintains trade ties with Taiwan.

“It is within that framework that Canada and Taiwan maintain a relationship,” Anand said. 

When asked by a reporter if China should dictate Canadian politicians in who to engage with or where they visit, Anand said, as the foreign affairs minister, her job is to put forth the “framework” within the One China Policy. 

Earlier Wednesday, Chong met with Lai in Taipei. The former cabinet minister said the trip is to show solidarity to Taiwan, also to stand against China’s ambassador earlier warnings against official visits to the island. 

“Canada is a sovereign and independent country,” Chong said in a statement on Sunday. “We do not take direction from a foreign government about where Canadian MPs can travel internationally, and where Canadian Navy warships can transit in international waters.”

Chong is travelling on his own expense, and is expected to return on Thursday.

According to a release, the pair discussed Taiwan’s role as a democracy “on the front lines” of authoritarian pressure, peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, and the longstanding tradition of Canadian parliamentarians visiting the island to strengthen bilateral ties.

with files from The Canadian Press