Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Taiwan’s de facto ambassador in London received a “special invitation” to sign a letter of condolence to Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. She added that he was treated the same as other prominent figures.

The UK, like most countries, does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which is claimed by China, although it maintains close informal relations. And democratically ruled Taiwan is largely excluded from most international events and bodies due to objections from Beijing.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday that its representative in London, Kelly Xie, received a “special invitation” from the British government to sign a letter of condolence at Lancaster House, which is run by the British Foreign Office.

China will send Vice President Wang Qishan to a state funeral in London on Monday, but some MPs expressed concern about inviting representatives from China after Beijing imposed sanctions on several British lawmakers for criticizing alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China denies such violations.

Taiwan did not say whether it would allow anyone to be sent to a state funeral, which will include a number of world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.

A British Foreign Office source said on Wednesday that the UK had invited a North Korean representative to the funeral, but that Syria, Afghanistan and Venezuela would not be invited.

The UK also did not invite Russia, Myanmar or Belarus to the funeral.