Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Taipei yesterday , marking his first visit to Taiwan, to attend the Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security issues and would meet with president Lai Ching-te(賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen(蔡英文) and senior security officials, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MOFA).
The annual forum, hosted by MOFA and the Prospect Foundation, is set to open today. Johnson is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech as a special guest, alongside former Canadian Defense Minister Jason Kenney.
Johnson’s visit to Taipei is a part of his broader trip to Asia that also includes a stop in China.
Photo courtesy of MOFA
During his term as Prime Minister (2019-2022), Johnson promoted stronger U.K.-China trade ties, pushing to revive the U.K.-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) and Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO). Both initiatives stalled due to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.
Johnson’s family has deep-rooted political and business ties with China. Notably, during his time as Foreign Secretary in 2018, China purchased land near London’s financial district for a proposed new embassy -- a project now under review by the British government due to national security concerns.
As prime minister, Johnson’s administration introduced the 2021 Integrated Review, which outlined a strategic “tilt” toward the Indo-Pacific. The 2023 update explicitly mentioned Taiwan for the first time and reaffirmed the region as a long-term U.K. foreign policy priority.
In 2021, under Johnson’s leadership, the U.K. deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific, including a warship that sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)