On the 22nd of August, 2024, the City Edinburgh Council, the capital of Scotland, passed a report on the "Relationship with the City of Kaohsiung." The report stated that Edinburgh's Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge, will officially write to Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chi-mai to express the city's intent to strengthen the partnership between Edinburgh and Kaohsiung in the future, and to develop substantive exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Taipei Representative Office in the U.K., Edinburgh Office, expresses deep gratitude to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government, Taipei Representative Office in the U.K., and overseas Taiwanese diaspora for their strong support and advice. We are very grateful for the City of Edinburgh Council and friends from Scotland for the steadfast friendship.
Taiwan is a sovereign place with democratic values and free market achievements. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the 2023 Democracy Index, ranking Taiwan 10th among 167 countries and regions in the world, ranking first in Asia. According to the 2024 Global Freedom Report, Taiwan ranks 2nd in Asia with a score of 94. One of Taiwan’s most landmarks is that same-sex marriage has been legal in Taiwan since 24 May 2019, making it the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
Taiwan is a top player in the world's information and communications technology industry as well as a major supplier of goods across the industrial spectrum. For instance, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited) in 2023, is the world's largest contract manufacturer of the semiconductor chips. NVIDIA, inventing the GPU and drives advances in AI, HPC, gaming, creative design, autonomous vehicles, and robotics, has been the world leader in artificial intelligence computing. Additionally, Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group), as the leader of technology services, has actively invested in the three emerging industries of "electric vehicles, digital health, etc.
Besides, the signing of the UK-Taiwan Memorandum of Understanding on Health Cooperation, US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade Agreement, and Canada-Taiwan Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, illustrate the fact that for many countries Taiwan is a reliable and potential partner to promote business and trade.
