President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday thanked British Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands for London’s support for Taiwan after he became the latest foreign official to defy Chinese pressure and visit the nation.
Tsai expressed hope for “new heights” in Taiwanese-British relations and “joint achievements” as the Chinese Communist Party steps up efforts to intimidate Taiwan.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank the government of the United Kingdom for its long-standing support of Taiwan’s international participation, and for advocating for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai said.
Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office / AFP
For its part, Britain is looking to develop new trade partnerships since leaving the EU in 2020. Hands became the first British official to visit Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that year.
Britain wants closer cooperation with Taiwan in semiconductors, wind energy and education, Hands told the Central News Agency.
Taiwanese firms manufacture most of the world’s high-end processor chips, while Britain is home to ARM, a leading chip designer.
Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office / AP
“Our relationship reaches beyond trade and investment as two groups of islands with strong democracies and institutions,” Hands said. “We have much in common and face many challenges as like-minded partners.”
Britain and China are to take part in next week’s meeting of the G20 major economies in Indonesia.
Taiwan and China are to attend an APEC meeting this month in Bangkok, where Taiwan is to be represented by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀).
Other foreign officials, including US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have visited Taiwan to show support for its government in the face of threats by Beijing to seize the nation by force.
On Monday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that Britain stop official contacts with Taiwan.
China has imposed visa bans and other sanctions on foreign officials and governments that extend contacts to Taiwan.
Tsai expressed interest in signing an investment deal with the UK to promote mutual trade and investment.
In a meeting in January last year, Tsai told British Representative to Taiwan John Dennis that she “very much look[s] forward to Taiwan and the UK being able to commence dialogue on a free-trade or bilateral investment agreement.”
At the meeting with Hands, Tsai said that Taiwan and the UK had deepened partnerships in areas such as technology, energy, business and trade over the past few years.
In the face of many challenges in the post-pandemic era, Taiwan looks forward to working with the UK and other democratic states to build more resilient global supply chains through technological cooperation and mutual investments, as well as financial support, she said.
Hands said that the UK would continue to be in talks with Taiwan’s authorities to help it achieve its “Bilingual 2030” policy.
The Tsai administration introduced the policy in 2017.
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