The UK has changed the name of its representative office in Taiwan from the British Trade and Cultural Office to the British Office to better reflect its services.
“This is purely a change of title. It is not a change of functions,” UK Representative to Taiwan Chris Wood said yesterday.
The name change took effect on Tuesday, he said, describing it as “a rebranding.”
“We felt that the old name, the British Trade and Cultural Office, did not adequately describe what we do,” Wood said.
He said that people did not really understand what the name meant and often did not recognize the agency as a government office.
“The British Office better reflects the full scope of our work,” which ranges from providing services to British citizens in Taiwan to facilitating cooperation in science and innovation, combating climate change, supporting UK trade with Taiwan and encouraging Taiwanese investment in the UK, Wood said.
The renaming can be seen as a positive development in Taiwan-UK, relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The two nations are to continue to cooperate in various fields based on a solid foundation, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
Wood said that the outcome of UK general elections earlier this month is not likely to result “in any change in the UK’s long-standing policy toward Taiwan.”
“We now have a majority Conservative government with many ministers reappointed to their previous positions,” he said.
The UK government’s key priorities remain as before — stimulating the British economy and boosting UK trade and exports, Wood said.
Taiwan and the UK have been forging stronger economic links and deepening cooperation on climate change and technology, he said.
He added that there has been an increase in the frequency of visits by senior British officials and members of parliament to Taiwan.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS