Former UK Prime Minister Johnson led a visiting delegation meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen today (5th). Johnson pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying behavior towards Taiwan is utterly unjustifiable, and any attempt to bully or annex Taiwan will never succeed. President Tsai hopes for strengthened cooperation between Taiwan and the UK for mutual benefits.
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan met with the delegation led by former UK Prime Minister Johnson (Boris Johnson) today. She expressed gratitude to Johnson and the UK government for their attention and support to Taiwan, as well as their repeated emphasis on the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in international arenas. President Tsai stated that Taiwan and the UK share universal values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, and she looks forward to enhancing cooperation with the UK to contribute to the international community.
During his speech, Johnson expressed his gratitude for Taiwan’s invitation. He emphasized the crucial and uncertain times the world is facing, echoing President Tsai’s remarks about Taiwan being at the frontline in the fight for freedom and democracy against authoritarian regimes.
Johnson mentioned his long-standing desire to visit Taiwan and his deep admiration for the country’s remarkable achievements, particularly in areas such as microprocessors and cuisine. He also conveyed respect for President Tsai’s policy directions for Taiwan and fully endorsed initiatives like the Five Trust Industries and increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP.
Johnson emphasized that many British people, including himself, believe that the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying behavior towards Taiwan is baseless. Taiwan is a free and peaceful society that should not be subjected to such intimidation. He stressed that such actions by the CCP are senseless and should be swiftly halted. Through dialogues with President Tsai and interactions with the Taiwanese people over the past few days, he has become clear that any attempts to bully or annex Taiwan will never succeed due to Taiwan’s admirable democratic system and its people’s deep love for freedom.
Amid this challenging and tense moment, Johnson urged all Western countries to strengthen their economic and political ties with Taiwan rather than distancing themselves from Taiwan under pressure from other nations. He pledged that the UK will continue to stand by Taiwan, not only due to shared strategic goals and thriving economic relations but also because of the shared values of democracy, human rights, and freedom highlighted by President Tsai. He emphasized the necessity to defend these values.
President Tsai, in her speech, welcomed former UK Prime Minister Johnson to Taiwan and as the keynote speaker at the Kaitagelan Forum. She highlighted Johnson as the third British former prime minister to visit Taiwan following Margaret Thatcher and Liz Truss, believing that this visit will further enhance exchanges between Taiwan and the UK.
President Tsai expressed gratitude to the UK government under Johnson’s leadership for the mention of the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in the joint communique of the G7 Summit when the UK held the rotating presidency in 2021. Since then, the UK has consistently reiterated its firm stance on maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in various bilateral and multilateral forums, garnering continuous international support for Taiwan.
In June this year, the UK Royal Navy patrol vessel “Spey” transited through the Taiwan Strait, actively defending freedom of navigation in the region. President Tsai noted that following this, the UK government released the National Security Strategy, highlighting the core position of the Taiwan Strait in global trade and supply chains. The UK does not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and will continue deepening cooperation with Taiwan across various sectors on the basis of shared democratic values. These actions initiated by the UK government during Johnson’s tenure have made tangible contributions to security in the Indo-Pacific region.
President Tsai pointed out that in recent years, Taiwan-UK economic and trade relations have achieved new milestones. The signing of the “Enhanced Trade Partnership Agreement” (ETP) between Taiwan and the UK in 2023 marked the first institutionalized economic and trade framework between Taiwan and a European country. In June of this year, the two sides further signed three pillar agreements in areas such as “investment,” “digital trade,” and “energy and net-zero emissions,” demonstrating their determination to strengthen economic and trade cooperation.