Thousands of British pupils taught Taiwan is part of China - 'No need to include this nonsense'

And while this is a government-funded scheme, it has now been revealed the course repeatedly suggests Taiwan belongs to China.

According to the Telegraph, one exercise for Year 8 pupils includes the question: "Where is Taiwan? Do you know Taiwan is part of China?"

Sources claim this lesson was not mandatory, and not all pupils had been taught this, however.

Another study guide says: “China has 22 provinces (23 if you choose to include Taiwan)”.

Some universities have been dragged into similar controversies in recent years. For example, the London School of Economics was embroiled in a row after unveiling a globe structure on campus, demonstrating Taiwan as a sovereign state.

It is not a view held by Taiwan itself, whose democratically elected government strongly rejects China’s stance.

In fact, military efforts have stepped up in recent months as fears grow over a potential Chinese attack.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to annex it, even by force if required.

But Taiwan is not the only debated region on the course. While six additional maps suggest Taiwan as part of China, four of these also identified Tibet as the same.

Tibet is governed as an autonomous region of China, but a continuous debate surrounds it. Many exiled Tibetans and human rights groups have argued that the region is illegally occupied by China.

The Government has pledged to cut the course's funding from £4.1million to £2.4million over the next year, as part of broader education cuts.

Sam Dunning, director of the UK-China Transparency think tank, said: "Maps appearing to show Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China, and even statements to a similar effect, represent an embarrassing attempt to weave propaganda into the teaching of young adults.

"Whilst there is obvious value in teaching young people Mandarin, there’s no need to include this nonsense, which does nothing except expose the intent of the Chinese Communist Party."

Meanwhile, Andrew Yeh, director of the China Strategic Risks Institute, told The Telegraph that it was "utterly disappointing" to see "the Mandarin Excellence Programme parrot Chinese Communist Party narratives on Taiwan."

"These narratives are not only one-sided, they’re also not reflective of the reality – where Taiwan exists as a de-facto self-governing state separate from the People’s Republic of China," he added.

The news comes as Sir Keir Starmer looks set to cave in to pressure from Beijing and approve a new Chinese super-embassy in central London.

The decision, while it has been delayed until after the new year, comes despite a myriad of serious security concerns.

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