President Tsai meets British Office Taipei Representative Catherine Nettleton
While meeting with British Office Taipei Representative Catherine Nettleton on the morning of January 17, President Tsai Ing-wen stated that as a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. As Brexit opens a new chapter in Taiwan-UK relations, she said, we look forward to building on our existing solid foundation to further upgrade our bilateral ties.
A translation of the president's remarks follows:
Welcome to the Presidential Office! Following the elections last Saturday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab offered timely congratulations through a post on the UK government website. This was retweeted by the British Office Taipei and posted on its official Facebook page. I also want to thank Representative Nettleton for congratulating me in person today.
I have received a number of congratulatory messages from various British friends, including Lord Steel of Aikwood, Honorary President of the British-Taiwan All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG); Lord Rogan, Co-chair of the APPG; Baroness D'Souza, former Lord Speaker; and many old friends from within the UK political and academic communities.
The United Kingdom also held its own general election just last month. I would like to extend my congratulations to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his successful reelection and wish the United Kingdom smooth progress as it leaves the European Union.
Relations between Taiwan and the United Kingdom have grown closer than ever over the past three years and more, and the United Kingdom continues to show a keen interest in developments in Taiwan. A few days ago, I sat down for an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and given the worldwide interest in our stance on cross-strait relations, I want to reiterate: As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and remain proactive in deepening collaboration with countries in the region, jointly promoting regional prosperity and development.
As a dependable and like-minded partner of Taiwan, the United Kingdom has been vocal in supporting Taiwan's participation in the international arena. In the past three years, we have enjoyed frequent mutual visits. We have also established economic and trade dialogues at a vice-ministerial level while expanding and deepening cooperation in related areas.
I look forward to seeing Taiwan and the United Kingdom establish dialogues on other issues. In the face of new developments after Brexit, we are confident that we can build on our existing solid foundation to further upgrade Taiwan-UK relations.
In closing, I would like to thank Representative Nettleton and her colleagues once again for coming here to congratulate me in person. We look forward to working with you to drive even more progress in our bilateral relationship.
At the beginning of the meeting, Representative Nettleton offered her congratulations to President Tsai on her election victory and stated that Taiwan's ability to once again smoothly complete democratic processes is proof of the thriving democratic system in Taiwan.