Taiwan is leaning on Britain to keep backing it against pressure from China, a positive sign for Taipei but a reminder that the risk of conflict in the strait is still very real.

• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told visiting British lawmakers that peace in the Taiwan Strait is "a matter of survival," not just a talking point.
• She thanked the UK for repeatedly saying, through the G7 and elsewhere, that it opposes any attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion.
• Hsiao tied Taiwan's safety to the wider region, arguing that a stable Indo-Pacific is essential for global prosperity.
• She also pressed for British support to get Taiwan into international bodies like the World Health Organization, from which China keeps it excluded.
• The meeting comes as Taiwan marks 30 years of direct presidential elections, a milestone Hsiao used to stress that democracy must be actively defended.

Outlook: Expect Taipei to keep courting Western parliaments for public statements of support as pressure from Beijing continues.