Visiting British lawmaker Bob Stewart yesterday praised the progress of democracy in Taiwan during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
A cross-party parliamentary delegation led by Stewart, who cochairs the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a six-day visit.
The six MPs in the delegation, three from the Conservative Party and three from the Labour Party, are “really big friends of Taiwan,” Stewart said.
Photo: CNA
He praised Taiwan as a nation that is “more democratic than the UK,” citing the Democracy Index 2022 report released by the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit earlier this year, which ranked Taiwan 10th and the UK 18th.
The index showed “how far democracy has come over the last 30 years in this country,” he said, adding that Taiwan is “a beacon of how democracy can work in the world.”
The UK and Taiwan are both island states, share similar attitudes and have close economic connections, he said.
Many Taiwanese live, work and study in the UK, and he hopes to see a similar trend among Britons in the future, he said.
He thanked Tsai for meeting the group, saying that he was unable to meet with the president during his previous trip to Taiwan in 2016 as she was busy inspecting areas struck by a typhoon at the time.
Tsai thanked the delegation for their support for Taiwan, saying that the delegation’s visit could help the two forge closer ties.
The UK has since 2021 used the G7 and other bilateral or multilateral platforms to underline the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, she said.
The British parliament has been a vocal supporter of Taiwan in recent years, she added, citing discussions about Taiwanese-British friendship and cooperation in February last year and a visit by a British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee delegation in November last year.
More than 30 British offshore wind power developers have set up offices in Taiwan, she said, adding that Taiwan and the UK complement each other in supply chain resiliency, cybersecurity, healthcare and biotechnology, creating mutually beneficial outcomes.
Tsai also expressed hope that the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership would be smooth and that it would support Taiwan’s bid to join the agreement.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS