Recommendation 50

HM Government Acknowledged

The UK’s longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship, based on deep and growing ties in a wide range of areas and underpinned by shared democratic values. The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo. This includes increased Chinese assertiveness towards Taiwan. 136. The Government has stated the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait alongside our G7 partners. We agree with the recommendation to build on existing cooperation with Taiwan and likeminded partner countries - the Government remains in regular contact with our G7 and other like-minded partners on our shared priorities. We are increasingly concerned by the consequences should peace and stability fail in the Taiwan Strait – including to global supply chains and the global economy. China’s continued military activity near Taiwan is part of an ongoing pattern of escalatory activity and not conducive to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The Government agrees with the importance of capability and understanding across government departments on Taiwan and regularly circulates guidance on UK engagement with Taiwan and will continue to do so. 137. As part of the UK’s deep and growing ties with Taiwan in a wide range of areas, we continue to engage on economic, trade, educational and cultural issues. The Government agrees with the importance of visits as part of these longstanding areas of cooperation between the UK and Taiwan and already supports a wide range of exchanges and visits, including on trade, science and educational issues. The recent inward visits of Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Minister for Digital Affairs and Wu Tsung-tsong, Minister of the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan and Deputy Minister of Education, Mon- Chi Lio demonstrate this commitment. The UK and Taiwan have a long-standing trade relationship with annual ministerial trade talks held since 1991; in November 2022, then Minister of State for International Trade, Greg Hands, visited Taiwan for the talks and the latest iteration took place on 6 November 2023 in London. On 8 November 2023, British Representative John Dennis and Taipei Representative Kelly Hsieh signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement which sets out the UK’s and Taiwan’s priorities for future ETP discussions under three key areas: two-way investment; digital trade; and energy and net zero. The Government agrees with the importance of visits to support these longstanding areas of cooperation between the UK and Taiwan. 138. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and the UK and Taiwan have strong trade and investment links in this sector. During the fifth UK-Taiwan Energy Dialogue last year, the two sides discussed long-term challenges and opportunities in this area and met innovative British firms exhibiting in the UK Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult stand at the Global Offshore Wind expo. As set out in the Government’s Semiconductor Strategy, we are also working with international partners to improve supply chain resilience for critical sectors, such as through improving transparency across the supply chain and ensuring government investments provide some protection against significant supply shocks. 139. We partially agree with the Committee’s recommendation on Taiwan’s place in international organisations. We believe the people of Taiwan have a valuable contribution to make on issues of global concern. The UK therefore supports Taiwanese participation in international organisations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is. This includes support for Taiwan as an observer at the World Health Assembly and participation in relevant WHO technical meetings, as stated in the UK national statement at the 2023 WHA.