The UK pledges to work with Taiwan to fight climate change, as both share democratic values respect for human rights, British Representative to Taiwan John Dennis said yesterday.
Dennis made the remarks at a news briefing at the Britishake restaurant in Taipei, marking Earth Day.
Dennis arrived in Taipei in December last year and assumed his post on Jan. 11. From 2014 to 2018, he was British ambassador to Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, and previously worked for the British embassy in Beijing.
Photo: CNA
“Today marks my 100-day milestone ... since I started external engagements in January” he said.
Over the past three months, he has had meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), as well as British businesses, he said.
The volume of Taiwan-UK trade has continued to grow, reaching £7.1 billion (US$9.8 billion) in 2019, a 28 percent increase from 2017, he said.
Taiwan is the UK’s largest offshore wind market in Asia, with 28 offshore wind supply chain companies in Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss would be the UK’s highest international priority for the next decade, Dennis said, adding that the UK was the first major economy to set a net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050.
Dennis said that he is glad to see that several Taiwanese businesses are taking action to join global climate initiatives, including the “Race to Zero,” “Renewable Energy 100” and “Electric Vehicle 100” campaigns, as well as cities taking the lead.
New Taipei City, Taichung and Kaohsiung have joined the "Powering Past Coal Alliance,” Dennis said.
The office is also keen to work with Taiwan in the science and technology sector, as well as on promoting bilingual education projects, Dennis added.
Taiwan is famous for innovative technology development, as the worldwide largest producer of semiconductors and the UK’s key international partner for chip technology collaboration, Dennis said.
The office has established three trade dialogues on intellectual property, energy and agriculture with Taiwan, Dennis said, adding that he is looking forward to bilateral trade talks in October.
In response to media queries on whether British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth would transit the Taiwan Strait when it visits the Indo-Pacific region next month, the office in a statement quoted Dennis as saying that "final decisions on routing will be for the UK Carrier Strike Group Operational Commander to make."
"The Indo-Pacific is increasingly important for the UK, as it is at the centre of global economic growth, and a region of increasing geostrategic importance. It is a natural choice for the inaugural deployment of our Carrier Strike Task Group to include a visit to the region. The deployment is a sign of the UK’s commitment to regional security," the statement added.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard