On 13 April, President Tsai Ing-Wen welcomed an eight-member British parliamentary delegation led by Lord Steel of Aikwood, where she expressed her hopes for the continued development of Taiwan-UK bilateral relations.
During the meeting, President Tsai Ing-wen first expressed her condolences for victims of last month’s terror attack in London and said the Taiwan-UK relationship is based on strong shared values. The president then thanked Lord Steel for his longstanding commitment to Taiwan-UK relations as Co-Chair of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group and noted that the UK is among Taiwan’s most important trading partners. Citing encouraging levels of foreign direct investment from the UK, President Tsai said Taiwan hopes to further strengthen cooperation by signing a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom and developing further links in culture, education, and tourism.
Organised by the Taipei Representative Office in the UK (TRO), this group was the first British parliamentary delegation of 2017.Throughout their six-day trip, the parliamentarians met with a range of Taiwanese officials, including Mr Ho Chi-kung, Deputy Minister of Health & Welfare, Dr Lin Cheng-yi, Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Dr Francois Chih-Ching Wu, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Su Chia-chyuan, President of the Legislative Yuan, Mr Shi-zhe, Deputy Mayor of Kaohsiung, and Mr Wen-Zhe Ko, Mayor of Taipei City. The delegation also called on the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Taiwanese companies with a focus on smart cities and renewable energy.
