1. General Introduction
In 1950, the UK switched its recognition from the Republic of China (ROC) to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite this diplomatic change, the UK maintained the British Consulate in Tamsui, Taipei, and through it continued to conduct consular and trade-related activities. In March 1972, the UK and PRC upgraded diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level and although the British Consulate was subsequently closed, the British government retained the consulate building until June 1980, when it was returned to the ROC government. The ROC government’s office in the UK was established in September 1963 under the name of the ‘Free Chinese Centre’ (FCC); and it retained this title until 15 April 1992, when it was renamed the ‘Taipei Representative Office in the UK’. Later on, the Taipei Representative Office in the UK, Edinburgh Office was established in 1998.
In February 1976, the UK, seeking to promote its economic interests in Taiwan, established the Anglo-Taiwan Trade Committee in Taipei, which later set up a Visa Handling Unit in June 1989. The Anglo-Taiwan Trade Committee and the UK Education Centre later merged in October 1993 to become the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO). The BTCO then changed its name to British Office Taipei (BOT) on 26 May 2015 to better reflect the full scope of its work.
Taiwan is dedicated to the promotion of Taiwan-UK bilateral relations, which has seen significant growth in recent years. 29 agreements and MoUs have been concluded in such areas as health, intellectual properties, youth exchanges, aviation, education, culture, avoidance of double taxation, etc. Taiwan and the UK have also established several regular bilateral dialogues, including the annual Taiwan-UK Trade Talks as well as annual forums on Renewable Energy, Railway, Smart City and Agriculture. In March 2021, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan jointly organised an international seminar on Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters" under the "Global Cooperation and Training Framework" (GCTF).
Taiwan also actively builds connections with and maintains strong support from the UK Parliament. The British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group has a 140-strong membership base, making it among the largest groups of its kind within the UK Parliament. The current Co-Chairs are Bob Stewart MP and Deputy Lord Speaker of the House of Lords Lord Rogan. In October 2014, then Lord Speaker Baroness D’Souza became the first ever Lord Speaker to visit Taiwan, symbolising the positive development of bilateral relations between both countries. In July 2018, the visit of Taiwan’s President of the Legislative Yuan Su Jia-chyuan marked the most important event for Taiwan-UK parliamentary exchanges in recent years. During his visit, President Su met with the Lord Speaker, the Chairman of Ways and Means (most senior deputy speaker of House of Commons), Co-Chairs of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group and other prominent parliamentarians. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons, presented a congratulatory statement to the 2021 Open Parliament Forum hosted by Legislative Yuan in December 2021. Alicia Kearns, Chair of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, led a Foreign Affairs Committee delegation to Taiwan in November 2022, and the Co-Chair of the APPG, Bob Stewart MP, also led an APPG delegation to Taiwan in March 2023. The visits helped to enhance the UK parliamentarians’ understanding of the challenges facing Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific region, and exploring key areas of potential cooperation between Taiwan and the UK.
On 3 March 2009, Taiwan was green lighted for the British government’s visa-waiver programme. This decision was based on the UK Border Agency’s review of visa regimes around the world, which deemed Taiwan as a low risk country. Taiwan’s inclusion in the programme has seen the number of ROC passport holders visiting the UK increase significantly. During the first year of Taiwan’s inclusion in 2009, the number rose to 54,200 from 26,100 in 2008. Thereafter, the number has continued to increase each year, with statistics indicating that 127,000 ROC citizens visited the UK in 2019. However, due to the pandemic, country specific data related to visitors to the UK is not available in 2020. On December 23, 2021, Taiwan and the United Kingdom signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the Exchange of Driving Licences and started implementing exchanges on January 1, 2022.
On 1 January 2012, the Taiwan-UK Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) was launched. The scheme provides 1,000 visas to Taiwanese youths between the ages of 18 and 30 with the opportunity to visit Taiwan each year.
Participants of the YMS are able to conduct full or part-time work, carry out voluntary activities, or study in their target countries to gain insight into the respective cultures, societies and lifestyles of the UK and Taiwan.
In 2016, the UK government announced the opening of the Registered Traveller Service to Taiwan passport holders, a scheme which has improved convenience for ROC citizens who visit the UK on a frequent basis.
The UK government highly values Taiwan’s democratic political achievements, and emphasises UK-Taiwan trading and commercial relations by listing Taiwan as one of the UK’s focus emerging markets. In addition to sending more officials to Taiwan, it also actively engages in exchanges and cooperation in such fields as trade, technology, education, energy, transportation, creative industries and finance. In the future, Taiwan will continue to expand cooperation and strengthen its partnership with the UK on the basis of friendliness and mutual benefit.
2. Trade and Investment
The United Kingdom has listed Taiwan as a key market for promoting trade since 1998, and maintains an active commercial presence in Taiwan. At the same time, the Taiwanese business community maintains an active presence in UK markets, sending delegations, participating in trade exhibitions, and establishing offices in the UK. Taiwan and the UK signed the protocol to the double taxation agreement in August 2021. It entered into force on 23 December of the same year. The Taiwan Trade Centre has also established a branch in London in order to promote bilateral trade. On 8 November 2023, Taiwan and the UK signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement, laying an important foundational framework upon which to build a long-term Taiwan-UK strategic trade partnership.
Furthermore, in November 2023, Taiwan and the UK held the 26th Annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks, which was the latest instance of high-level economic and trade dialogues between the two countries. The bilateral dialogue was jointly chaired by Taiwanese Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi Chen and then UK Trade Policy Minister Nigel Huddleston.
The total bilateral trade between the UK and Taiwan amounted to US$6.08 billion in 2023, an decrease of 8.63% compared to 2022. Taiwan’s exports to the UK stood at US$3.89 billion, while Taiwan’s imports from the UK were valued at US$2.19 billion. The UK ranks as Taiwan’s 3rd largest trading partner in Europe, while Taiwan is the UK’s 10th largest trading partner in Asia.
From January to June 2024, total bilateral trade between the UK and Taiwan was worth US$3.75 billion. Taiwan’s exports to the UK stood at US$2.65 billion, while Taiwan’s imports from the UK were valued at US$1.0 billion.
Taiwan’s exports to the UK mainly consisted of radio navigational aid apparatus, solid-state non-volatile storage devices, parts and accessories of the machines of heading 84.71, bicycles, telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks, other screws and bolts, portable automatic data processing machines, other parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 87.11 to 87.13, articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics or athletics and other hand tools. The UK’s exports to Taiwan consisted mainly of whisky, spacecraft (including satellites) and suborbital and spacecraft launch vehicles, other medicaments, sedan (of a cylinder capacity exceeding 3,000 cc), machines and apparatus for the manufacture of semiconductor devices or of electronic integrated circuits, sedan (of a cylinder capacity exceeding 1,500 cc but not exceeding 3,000 cc), anti-cancer preparations and other machinery of heading 84.79.
The UK is one of the most popular investment destinations in Europe for Taiwanese companies. According to statistics from the Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwanese companies have invested in 246 projects in the UK as of July 2024, ranking second in our investment in Europe, behind only Germany. The overall amount of investment reached around US$3.35 billion, third to the Netherlands and Germany in our investment in Europe. Regardless of the number of investment projects or the amount of investment, the UK remains a preferred destination for commercial investment in Europe. Taiwanese investment is mainly targeted towards the ICT industry, with sales bases, maintenance centres and warehouses operating in the UK.
Meanwhile, as of July 2024 British companies have invested in a total of 1,487 projects in Taiwan, comprised mainly of professional and technical services, wholesale and retail, information and communications, finance and insurance industries as of November 2023. However, as offshore wind power is one of our most important energy and infrastructure policies in recent years, it has become an emerging topic for UK investment in Taiwan.
3. Financial Relations
On 16 January 2007, the ROC Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which split into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), to further strengthen cooperation between the two sides. The FSC has continuously maintained close cooperation with both the FCA and PRA.
As of September 2024, five Taiwan commercial banks operate branches in London, namely, the Bank of Taiwan, Hua Nan Bank, Chang Hwa Bank, First Bank and Mega International Bank. British banks such as Standard Chartered and HSBC have both established branches and subsidiaries in Taiwan. Furthermore, four British financial groups, including Prudential, Schroders, Standard Life Aberdeen and Barclays, have opened one insurance subsidiary, three asset management subsidiaries and one securities subsidiary in Taiwan.
4. Education Relations
Taiwan and the UK signed a joint ‘Agreement on Education and Culture’ on 25 September 2001. A ‘Memorandum on Collaboration in Education’ was also concluded on 4 November 2005, renewed on 4 November 2011 and again on 7 August 2017. In October 2020, a Letter of Intent for educational cooperation was signed. Subsequently, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 22 October 2021 to increase language proficiency and advance the internationalisation of education as part of the "Bilingual Nation 2030" Policy. Both Taiwan and the UK actively promote cooperation and exchanges in the fields of English and Mandarin language learning, higher education, school-level education (K-12) and school partnerships.
In the 2021/22 academic year, the number of Taiwanese students formally enrolled in UK universities totalled 3,685. According to official figures, the UK is the fourth most popular destination for Taiwanese students, behind only the US, Australia and Japan.
In terms of higher education exchanges, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and the Centre of Taiwan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, signed a memorandum for a ‘Senior Teaching Fellow in Taiwan Studies’ to fund Taiwan-related research and teaching at SOAS. The Ministry of Education has also funded a Mandarin teaching project at the University of Cambridge for over 20 years and, in May 2020, further expanded the cooperation to include a new project on Taiwan Studies by signing an 'Agreement for the Funding of a Taiwan Studies Programme'. Furthermore, the University of Oxford has partnered with the Ministry to launch a Taiwan Studies programme in October 2022.
Each year, the Ministry of Education grants Taiwan Scholarships and Huayu Enrichment Scholarships to enable UK students to undertake degree programmes or study Mandarin in Taiwan. Collaborative bilateral educational exchanges of this kind are very popular. Furthermore, the introduction by MOFA of the Taiwan-Europe Connectivity Scholarship, under the Bilingual 2030 policy, has enabled students on Chinese Studies courses at eight universities across the UK to spend their year abroad in Taiwan. Over the course of 2023, around 200 UK students study in Taiwan thanks to scholarships funded by the Taiwanese government.
In September 2023, the Ministry of Education hosted the 'UK-Taiwan Technological and Vocational Education Workshop' in London. Attendees included representatives from 12 Taiwanese universities of science and technology, as well as representatives from the UK government and British professional and technical universities.
5. Cultural Relations
Taiwan and the UK enjoy a close partnership with frequent, mutually beneficial exchanges in arts and culture. On the one hand, Taiwan remains a crucial destination for renowned UK-based artists and organisations. On the other hand, the UK has hosted and continues to host many of Taiwan’s top artists and creative professionals, presenting to British audiences the best cultural content Taiwan has to offer. For example, the Natural History Museum, London brought its touring exhibition, "Fantastic Beasts: The Wonders of Nature," to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in July 2024. Additionally, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts presented "Capturing the Moment: A Journey Through Painting and Photography," previously held at Tate Modern, and the " Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London” exhibition at Chimei Museum showcased works by artists from Raphael to Van Gogh.
The Cultural Division at the TRO and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan have partnered with organisations to host performances and exhibitions comprising of a wide range of disciplines to showcase Taiwanese talent, artists and events. These include The Coronet Theatre, Hayward Gallery at Southbank, Liverpool Biennial, King’s College London, London Craft Week, Glastonbury Festival, Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, Barbican Centre, London Design Biennale, Sadler’s Wells, The Place, Edinburgh Fringe, and many more. In addition to these exchanges, the quality and calibre of Taiwanese cultural content have been widely recognised by British audiences and critics. For example, the Taiwanese author Wu Ming-Yi's book “The Stolen Bicycle” was long-listed in the Booker International Prize in 2018, while Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre was named the Outstanding Company at the 19th National Dance Awards in 2019.
In the field of cinema, the London East Asia Film Festival has been bringing a number of the latest Taiwanese films to London in Autumn annually, making Taiwan and its cinema a pillar of the Festival by attracting the UK audiences with many recent releases and a special Taiwan night to celebrate the country’s long-lasting impact on the film industry. Taiwanese cinema enjoyed in the UK is not only varied in terms of genre and historical setting, but also contributes to furthering inclusivity and human rights. The Ministry of Culture has collaborated with the Queer East festival every year, which highlights LGBTQI+ movies and short films from East Asian countries. This has drawn the attention of British audiences to queer communities in Taiwan.
In 2024, new projects and continued partnerships have brought a more multifaceted view of Taiwanese cinematic culture to British audiences. For instance, a special film season entitled "Taiwanese Cinema: Now and Then" was hosted at the Garden Cinema, an independent cinema with brilliant curatorial concept. The programme showcased classic and contemporary Taiwanese films and included post-screening discussions with the filmmakers, which were very popular with the audiences. In 2023, the second edition of Hong Kong Film Festival UK partnered with the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, to include a section called “A Mirror Image: HK X Taiwan Documentaries,” which introduced representative productions from Taiwan and Hong Kong to UK audiences and explored how documentaries respond to social and environmental changes in the two regions with screenings in London, Manchester, and Edinburgh.
Regarding contemporary art, in 2024,Taiwanese artist Kuang-Yi Ku’s immersive performance piece “Bat Night Market”, which combines bioscience and digital technology, debuted at the London International Festival of Theatre. The performances sold out and were highly praised in the professional media. Furthermore, the London-based institution, Delfina Foundation, continues its partnership to offer a residency for a Taiwanese artist or curator in 2024. UK also hosted many Taiwanese indigenous artists and craftspeople. For instance, during the 2023 London Craft Week, Taiwan was represented by an exhibition and workshops of textiles and baskets made with traditional indigenous weaving techniques. Moreover, the 2023 Liverpool Biennial commissioned an installation by the artist Eleng Luluan from the Rukai people, while the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre presented an installation by indigenous artist Aluaiy Kaumakan as part of an exhibition in 2023. Taiwanese artist Michael Lin was also commissioned to create a site-specific public artwork for the Café in Hayward Gallery.
In the field of literature, Taiwan has continued its collaboration with the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) to promote the Chinese-to-English Literary Translation Workshop.
In the field of design, the Taiwan Pavilion: ‘Visible Shop’ at the London Design Biennale (1-25 June, 2023) was awarded the Best Design Medal for the most exceptional design. Furthermore, in September 2023, many talented Taiwanese designers took part in London Fashion Week, bringing Taiwan’s outstanding creativity to a more varied audience in several iconic venues across London. For instance, two of the most prominent examples are Cludia Wang, who showcased her works at Tate Modern, and Apujan, a Taiwanese designer based in London, who showed his designs at Somerset House. Apujan also participated in London Fashion Week 2024 with his own brand. His designs were widely appreciated in the fashion media and featured in Forbes magazine.
In the field of performing arts, exchanges between Taiwan and the UK have been on the rise. In Spring 2024, the exciting Taiwan Festival was held at the renowned Coronet Theatre with the support of Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. Featuring ground-breaking performances in dance, music, visual art, and physical theatre, as well as cutting-edge VR and immersive experiences, the festival had a dynamic programme bringing the best of Taiwan’s creativity to London, with numerous performances being shown for the first time in the UK. Highlights of this remarkable festival include a specially commissioned, large-scale installation by world-renowned artist Cheng-Tsung Feng, innovative choreography by Hung Dance and Anarchy Dance Theatre, brand-new theatre productions by the prestigious Riverbed Theatre company, and intimate musical gigs by the talented Yujun Wang.
Scotland has also become an essential hub for Taiwanese culture. Since 2014, Taiwan has presented the best performing arts programme under the name of Taiwan Season to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a global artistic and cultural phenomenon. The groups participating in 2024’s Taiwan Season included Bon Appétit Theatre, Seed Dance Company, 0471 Acro Physical Theatre, and D_Antidote Production, who displayed diverse creative approaches and were highly praised by the audience and critics. The subsequent Taiwan Season Reception attracted British and international media, artists and cultural organizations. In 2023, Taiwanese dancer and choreographer Su PinWen was invited for the first time by the famous Dance Umbrella to perform ‘Girl’s Notes’ in London. Subsequently, together with choreographer Wang Yeu-Kwn, Su took up a residency at the renowned London-based dance institution The Place. Moreover, the famous Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performed in the UK in late 2023, bringing Cheng Tsung-Lung’s ‘Lunar Halo’ to Sadler’s Wells in London.
These varied exchanges continue to highlight the strong and dynamic cultural ties between Taiwan and the UK and expand the international market for Taiwanese artists.
6. Science and Technology collaboration
Since 1999, Taiwan’s National Science Council (NSC) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Royal Society, British Academy, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the British Office Taipei. Under these MoUs, at least 40 cooperative projects per year are sponsored to support high-level official visits, academic exchanges, joint research, bilateral workshops, etc.
The NSC became the Ministry of Science and Technology in March 2014, and was restructured in July 2022, officially becoming the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The NSTC will use a broader, more efficient perspective to coordinate the allocation of resources across government agencies and bring important science and technology policies to fruition. At the same time, the NSTC will utilise Taiwan’s renowned prowess in science and technology to further strengthen Taiwan-UK bilateral collaborations. We will continue to work closely with Britain’s government, academic institutions and science industry, promoting further exchanges between Taiwan and the UK.
With the rapid growth of emerging technologies, Taiwan has become indispensable to the entirety of the world because of its prominent capacity in making cutting-edge semiconductors. In June 2023, a visiting delegation led by Tsung-Tsong Wu, the former Minister of the NSTC, met with former Senior Minister George Freeman and former Minister Paul Scully of DSIT and had in-depth discussions regarding science and technology policy, future developments in technology, and resilient supply chains.
The NSTC is also striving for the global Net Zero goal. Minn-Tsong Lin, the former Deputy Minister of the NSTC led a delegation to Scotland in June 2023 to meet with the Scottish government and its directorate of Energy and Climate Change to discuss net zero policy, technology R&D and application, and to meet with the Just Transition Commission to talk about the social impact of energy transition.
In addition to fostering intergovernmental technology collaboration, the NSTC is also dedicated to enhancing the international visibility of Taiwan's R&D growth by proactively participating in well-known science and technology exhibitions in the UK and organising R&D conferences and forums. In September 2023, NARLabs, which is sponsored by the NSTC, participated in the CogX Festival to showcase the development of chip-based advanced technologies and delivered several speeches. In June 2024, the NSTC hosted the SEMI IMPACT forum in London, which brought together attendees from industry, R&D, and policy to discuss future trends in semiconductors and to share Taiwan's successful experience in shaping an effective and innovative semiconductor industrial ecosystem. In July 2024, the NSTC organized the Cross-Disciplinary Conference, exploring the opportunities and potential risks related to AI development respectively from the perspectives of geopolitics, public health, biotechnology and industry.
Regarding international academic performance, Nai-Ying Monica Ko, Distinguished Professor and Vice Dean for International Affairs at National Cheng Kung University, was honoured with the Heath Clark Lectureship by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, becoming the first Taiwanese scholar to receive this honour. Professor Ko delivered the lecture in London in May, discussing the development of infectious diseases in Taiwan and their prevention.
7. Public health collaboration
Taiwan and UK have in recent years established regular exchange and collaboration on topics concerning public health. Since the COVID-19 outbreak escalated rapidly in Europe in March 2020, Taiwan has been keen to provide help, for example by donating a total of 2 million medical face masks to the UK government. The COVID-19 task forces on both sides also have been sharing their expertise and experience on several occasions.
Taiwan’s success story in combating COVID-19 is highly valued by the UK government as well as by its Parliament. Taiwan’s Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen and Digital Minister Audrey Tang were invited to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee and the House of Lords Public Services Committee respectively in June and September 2020, to share Taiwan’s experience in fighting the virus. Moreover, the UK’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, were invited to Taiwan’s Ketagalan Forum in September 2020 to share the UK’s views on global health security in a post COVID-19 era. In his speech he also expressed appreciation for Taiwan’s help to the UK.
In September 2020, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers Lord Ahmad and Nigel Adams both made it clear on separate occasions that the UK hopes Taiwan is allowed to attend the World Health Assembly as an observer, and that Taiwan’s expertise and experience in combating COVID-19 shows it can make a valuable contribution to the world. In May 2021, the United Kingdom hosted a meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers. The communiqué issued afterwards expressed support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly. In the same month, the British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for the first time expressed his support for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly in his speech to its annual meeting. In May 2023, when addressing the 76th World Health Assembly, the UK’s Health Secretary Will Quince once again openly expressed the UK’s support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA as an observer. He also highlighted that Taiwan should be given meaningful access to all relevant technical meetings.
