Undeterred by fears over severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the second UK trade minister to visit Taiwan in less than a month is expected to arrive next Tuesday.
During a two-day visit, he will meet with British business representatives and lobby top Cabinet officials on behalf of UK firms bidding for government projects, Derek Marsh, British Trade and Cultural Office director general, confirmed yesterday.
Alan Johnson, minister of state at the UK's Department of Trade and Industry is paying a visit to the nation less than four weeks after Nigel Griffiths, the UK's minister of small business, also met with government officials on the same topic. Griffiths departed Taiwan on April 2.
"Johnson is here at the invitation of the British Chamber of Commerce as there are some important business opportunities being pursued by British companies here," Marsh told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The companies include British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell Group which are both bidding for a contract to supply 1.7 million tonnes a year of natural gas to state-utility Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) starting in 2008.
The project is worth 500 million pounds (US$787.6 million) over the next year and a further 12 billion pounds over 25 years.
Then there is Rolls Royce which, together with Airbus, is trying to fight off US-based Boeing in a contract to supply new planes to China Airlines. "It is [Johnson's] aim to meet with government ministers when he is here, but he won't just lobby them on behalf of British companies. They will be having discussions on a number of different issues." Johnson's ministerial portfolio includes the aerospace and materials industries.
The visit is Johnson's second trip to Taiwan. In January 2001, the minister met with the chairperson of the Council of Labor Affairs, officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and leading business representatives from Kaohsiung. He also attended the annual Taiwan Britain Business Council, a forum where Taiwanese and British businesses discuss possible joint-investment projects. "Minister Johnson is interested to see the impact of the WTO on Taiwan and the way the business climate has changed since his last visit," Marsh said. Taiwan joined the WTO in January 2002.
Last year trade between the UK and Taiwan topped US$4.26 billion, including US$2.91 billion in exports from Taiwan and US$1.35 billion in imports from the UK, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs figures. To date, 286 UK firms have invested US$2.2 billion in Taiwan, while 126 Taiwan firms pumped US$440 million into the British economy.
In related news, the new director of the British Council in Taipei, Gordon Slaven, is arriving on the island tomorrow to take up his post on Monday. Slaven's arrival from his current post at the British Council in Beijing has been overshadowed by the rising occurrence of SARS cases in the Chinese capital.
Yesterday the Mainland Affairs Council barred Beijing citizens from traveling to Taiwan except for essential purposes. As a UK citizen, the ban does not apply to Slaven, but he will be subject to a temperature check upon arrival at the airport.
"He will follow the official Taiwan policy and will be checked at the airport," Tim Conway, acting head of the British Council, told the Taipei Times yesterday. "He would want, as a responsible person, to be quarantined if there is anything wrong."
Slaven implemented policies to protect British Council employees in Beijing from SARS, Conway said, including increased hygiene and new commuting policies. Conway welcomed the opportunity yesterday to learn from Slaven's experience in creating a SARS policy for the Taipei British Council.
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