President Lai meets British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group delegation

On the afternoon of March 31, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). In remarks, President Lai expressed gratitude to the UK Parliament for its pivotal role in focusing attention on peace in the Taiwan Strait and raising support for Taiwan's international participation. The president also thanked the UK government for its past deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific for freedom of navigation operations, saying that these concrete actions help jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. He expressed hope that, moving forward, Taiwan will further deepen economic and trade exchanges with the UK and promote industrial cooperation so that we can jointly open a new chapter of prosperity and development for the Indo-Pacific economy.

A translation of President Lai's remarks follows:

I warmly welcome the British-Taiwanese APPG delegation to Taiwan. Last year, Co-chair Lord Rogan came to attend the Formosa Club Annual Conference. It is a great pleasure to see him again today. This visit fully demonstrates the UK Parliament's staunch support for Taiwan. In recent years, Taiwan-UK relations have grown even closer. The UK Parliament has always played a pivotal role in focusing UK government attention on peace in the Taiwan Strait and raising support for Taiwan's international participation. I would like to sincerely thank our friends in the Houses of Parliament for their strong support of Taiwan through such concrete actions as public debates, written parliamentary questions, and joint letters.

The current international situation is rapidly evolving. Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are not only vital to regional security but are also closely intertwined with global supply chain resilience and world prosperity. I would also like to thank the UK Parliament and government for openly opposing on multiple occasions any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, and for emphasizing that the security of the Indo-Pacific and transatlantic regions is closely intertwined. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will fulfill its responsibilities in maintaining regional security. I hope that, moving forward, the UK government will continue to place focus on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to the UK government for its past deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific for freedom of navigation operations. These concrete actions help jointly safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region.

Beyond security issues, there is much potential for cooperation between Taiwan and the UK in such areas as technological innovation, economic resilience, and the green energy transition. In 2023, Taiwan and the UK signed the Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) arrangement, marking Taiwan's first institutionalized bilateral economic and trade framework with a European country. Last year, under the ETP framework, we further signed three pillar arrangements under the ETP covering investment, digital trade, and energy and net zero.

In closing, I would like to reiterate my gratitude for your unwavering support of Taiwan, and may the friendship between Taiwan and the UK continue to deepen. We sincerely look forward to working together with you all to ensure that the development of Taiwan-UK relations continues to reach new milestones. Moving forward, Taiwan will further deepen economic and trade exchanges with the UK and promote industrial cooperation. We also hope that the UK will continue to support Taiwan's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership so that we can jointly open a new chapter of prosperity and development for the Indo-Pacific economy.

Co-chair Lord Rogan then delivered remarks, saying that they are very pleased and honored to visit Taiwan. He mentioned that he is an old visitor to Taiwan, having first come here in 1972 as a businessman and many years afterwards, and that he first came here as a parliamentarian in 2005. He noted that the changes he has seen in Taiwan's society and economy from those periods were enormous and left him with a deep impression. In recent years, he mentioned, he has come to Taiwan to attend the Formosa Club Annual Conference and President Lai's inauguration, adding that with each visit he is amazed at Taiwan's progress and prosperity.

Co-chair Lord Rogan said that as a businessman, he has watched with envy the way that Taiwan has moved its economy from basic textiles to now high-quality jobs, high technology, and not least, its semiconductor industry, which, he noted, produces 60% of the world's chips and 95% of the advanced chips. For Taiwan, a country that has limited natural resources, he emphasized, this is an amazing achievement. He further noted that Taiwan's natural resources are, in fact, its people.

Co-chair Lord Rogan said that for most of his colleagues, who have never been here before, a visit like this shows them the success and the pleasure of coming to Taiwan. He said that by meeting President Lai and various ministers, officials, and business leaders, it gives them more insight and knowledge of the success of Taiwan and the problems that it may face. He said that they will be leaving Taiwan with a great impression and much pleasure. He mentioned that this visit allows his colleagues who are first visiting Taiwan to speak with authority when they speak in Parliament, since they have actually seen the situation on the ground in Taiwan.

Co-chair Lord Rogan emphasized that their visit demonstrates the support Taiwan has in the British government to the government and people of Taiwan. He explained that representatives from all parts of the UK have shown support for Taiwan - in both Houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords, and that the support extends into the five parties and the four countries that make up the UK - Wales, Northern Ireland, England, and Scotland. He said that the visit also shows to the outside world and Taiwan's neighbors the support it has from the UK.

Co-chair Lord Rogan expressed his appreciation that Taiwan is a liberal democracy in a part of the world where there are others that are not democracies. He then expressed his agreement with President Lai's remarks about the Taiwan Strait and how important it is at the current time to have the strait open for international trade, adding that this has never been more relevant than today with the current turbulent international situation. In closing, Co-chair Lord Rogan gave his assurance that in London they are striving day after day to promote Taiwan's involvement in international relations and international groups, underscoring that they will continue to do so.

The delegation also included Lord Davies of Gower, Member of Parliament Layla Moran, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, Lord Tope, Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Member of Parliament Leigh Ingham, Member of Parliament Graeme Downie, Member of Parliament Dan Aldridge, and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by British Office Taipei Director of Regional Security Matt Nottingham.