Liberal MP Sgro to Lead Delegation to Taiwan as China Sanctions New Zealand Lawmakers Over Trip

Liberal MP Judy Sgro speaks to a reporter at the "Taiwan Night in Ottawa" event in Ottawa on May 10, 2023. Annie Wu/NTD

Liberal MP Judy Sgro says she plans to lead a delegation of MPs to Taiwan in October. The announcement comes as China imposed sanctions on New Zealand lawmakers who recently visited the island nation.

Sgro, who chairs the Canada-Taiwan Friendship Group in Parliament, said at a parliamentary committee meeting on May 26 that she will lead a delegation to Taiwan in October with parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle.

She confirmed the planned delegation to The Canadian Press this week. She said the Prime Minister’s Office has not contacted her about the trip, adding that MPs have never needed permission for such visits.

“I don’t need confirmation from the centre. This is a parliamentary friendship group. We’re going on our own time,” Sgro said. “There’s never been any interference or any suggestion, ever, to me that we should not be doing that—not then or now.”

She said such parliamentary exchanges are “extremely important” and called Taiwan “a beacon of hope in that part of the world for democratic principles.”

Her comments come after the Chinese ambassador to Canada warned in April against parliamentarians visiting Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, despite never having governed the island nation, and seeks to place it under Beijing’s rule.

Sgro said Taiwan is a “democratic country” that holds regular elections, and its people are “very similar” to Canadians.

“They’re respectful, quiet, law-abiding citizens who look at Canada as the model that they want to be like and to promote,” she said.

Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, called Sgro’s plan “great news.”

“Good to see Canadian parliamentarians traveling to #Taiwan despite growing pressure from Beijing,” Nadjibulla said in a June 5 post on X.

New Zealand’s foreign ministry said last week that Beijing had barred four lawmakers from entering Hong Kong, Macau, and the Chinese mainland as punishment for visiting Taiwan in May.

A spokesperson for New Zealand’s foreign minister said lawmakers had visited Taiwan for decades without a problem and such visits are “not inconsistent” with New Zealand’s One China policy.

A number of countries, including Canada, have a “One China policy” that recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the government of China, but “neither endorses nor challenges” Beijing’s position on Taiwan. Under the policy, countries do not recognize Taiwan as a state, but maintain economic and cultural ties with the island nation.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in New Zealand said the actions of the New Zealand parliamentarians “violate the one-China principle and constitute interference in China’s internal affairs.”

“MPs are not ordinary citizens,” the spokesperson said in a June 4 statement. “China has consistently opposed visits to China’s Taiwan region by members of the legislatures of countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including New Zealand, and this case is no exception.”

China’s Warning

Chinese ambassador to Canada Wang Di said in an interview with The Globe and Mail in late April that it would be “hurtful” to Canada-China ties if Canadian parliamentarians conduct “any official engagement” with Taiwan.

Conservative MP Michael Chong visited Taiwan last month and met with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in defiance of the Chinese ambassador’s warning. Chong said Canada is a “sovereign and independent country” that does not “take direction from a foreign government about where Canadian MPs can travel internationally.”

The ambassador’s warning came after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China in January to deepen ties with Beijing. The trip followed years of strife over the Chinese regime detaining Canadians, imposing tariffs on Canadian canola, and engaging in foreign interference.

Just ahead of Carney’s China visit, two Liberal MPs on a trip to Taiwan were advised by Ottawa to cut their trip short. The MPs, Helena Jaczek and Marie-France Lalonde, said returning to Canada early was important to “avoid confusion” on Canada’s foreign policy. Conservatives said the move hurt democracy and accused Ottawa of “kowtowing to Beijing.”

Sgro said this week that the MPs left on their own accord, noting there was “concern” at the time that the MPs’ visit might interfere with the “delicate discussions” the prime minister would hold in Beijing.

Controversy over Canada-Taiwan relations has emerged in recent months, with Taiwan’s ambassador to Canada saying Ottawa may be delaying the signing of a trade agreement with Taiwan as it seeks closer ties with Beijing.

Harry Tseng told CBC’s Radio-Canada in February that Taiwan was left with the impression that Canada is seeking to improve its relations with China at the expense of its relationship with Taiwan. He said the trade cooperation agreement between Ottawa and Taipei has been just awaiting a final signature since April 2025.

Carney said in February that Canada is not “afraid” of having relations with Taiwan, but is “focusing on strengthening our trade relations with China.”

Reuters and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.