British Undersecretary of State for International Trade Graham Stuart yesterday set an optimistic tone for the possibility of a trade agreement between Taiwan and the UK after Brexit, touting the productive environment created by bilateral trade talks.
Stuart made the remarks at a news conference in Taoyuan at the vertical vegetable farming company YesHealth iFarm (源鮮智慧農場), which is to invest ￡18 million (US$25.5 million) to establish its first European base with a vertical farming factory in York, England.
“This is only the latest announcement in a pattern of mutual trade and investment that has flourished between our economies in recent years,” Stuart said, adding that the firm’s 14-story vertical farm is Asia’s largest indoor plant producer and is at the cutting edge of an industry that, while still in its early stages, has truly global implications.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
He also announced that frozen food manufacturer Han Dian Frozen Prepared Food Co (漢典食品) would invest ￡3.5 million to expand its UK manufacturing operation, following an initial investment in London in September last year.
Asked about the possibility of a trade deal between Taipei and London, Stuart said that the British government has had excellent trade talks with Taiwan and that they have been very productive since they were established.
“As we leave the EU, the first step is to roll over existing agreements, which countries around the world have so far indicated that they are happy to do,” Stuart said, adding that the UK’s next step would be looking to work closely with its allies around the world.
“For now, the trade talks between Taiwan and the UK provide a very productive environment to develop further links between the two countries,” he said, without elaborating.
The two nations, which saw two-way trade of ￡5.4 billion in 2016, concluded their 20th round of trade talks in London in December last year, where they reached a consensus to set up a dialogue platform this year to discuss agriculture and energy cooperation.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in a meeting with Stuart at the Presidential Office on Monday that the two nations have been given a chance to upgrade the overall bilateral relationship, as the UK is preparing to form new trade relationships with important trading partners in the post-Brexit era.
In addition to agriculture and “green” energy, there are other key areas where Taiwan and the UK have mutual interests and cooperation, including biotech, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and railways, Stuart said.
“England was the first country in the world to develop civil nuclear power. We have tremendous experience in dealing with the end of life of nuclear plants. So there is a huge opportunity for British firms to support Taiwan in ... dealing with its nuclear legacies and developing ‘green’ renewables,” Stuart said.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS