Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement by the Chinese Embassy to the UK entitled Embassy Spokesperson on a Taiwan-related motion concocted by a handful of British MPs, published on 29 November 2024, what the Government's policy is on whether Taiwan is a province of China.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan, as set out in the 1972 Communiqué, has not changed and remains the position of this government.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support Taiwan's security.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and has repeatedly stated this alongside our G7 partners. Without it, the prosperity and security interests of both the UK, and our global partners, would suffer. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, and do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo. We continue to engage with Taiwan across a wide range of areas as part of our unofficial relationship.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to counter China’s attempts to use United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 2758 to justify Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN, and whether they have considered hosting side meetings with Taiwanese representatives at UN conventions where Taiwan is denied participation, including the recent 92nd INTERPOL General Assembly in Glasgow.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
In line with the UK's longstanding position on Taiwan, we support Taiwanese participation at international organisations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite or as an observer or guest where it is. As Minister West made clear in her speech to the House on 28 November, it is the UK's view that UNGA Resolution 2758 decided that only the government of the People's Republic of China would represent China at the UN. It did not make a determination over the status of Taiwan and should not preclude Taiwan's meaningful participation at international organisations. We always consider opportunities for engaging with Taiwan in the margins of international events.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deepen their engagement with Taiwan, including through seeking full partner status at the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, and whether they intend to support Taiwan’s participation in future sessions of the AI Safety Summit.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK believes that the people of Taiwan have a valuable contribution to make on issues of global concern. We have been proud to support UK expert participation at GCTF events around the world, and we have no plans to step back from our engagement with the platform. The UK supports Taiwan's meaningful participation at international fora as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite or as an observer or guest where it is. Attendance at future AI Safety Summits is a matter for each event's host country.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to facilitate an inward visit to the UK from former President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK does not have 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. There is a longstanding pattern of senior visits between the UK and Taiwan, including many conducted independently of HMG.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support Taiwan’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and to encourage other member states to endorse its bid; and whether they are seeking to expedite Taiwan’s CPTPP application and to ensure that it is considered independently of, or prior to, the application of China.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Discussion among CPTPP Members is progressing on how to take forward accession applications. The UK and other CPTPP members have reaffirmed on several instances that the CPTPP is open to Accession Requests by economies that can satisfy the “Auckland Principles”, namely being able to meet the agreement’s high standards, having a track record of compliance with trade commitments, and commanding consensus of the Parties. It is right that we work within the principles of the group to achieve a consensus decision, rather than providing our own individual narrative on the applications of specific economies.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK firms participating in renewable energy projects in Taiwan to enhance energy resilience in that country.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
In November 2023, the British Representative in Taipei and the Taipei Representative in the UK signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement setting out the UK and Taiwan’s priorities for the future cooperation, including an energy and net zero pillar. The Government regularly promotes international business opportunities to UK firms and has previously supported business delegations to Taiwan. UK Export Finance, the Government’s credit agency, has also provided over £900million of financing to Taiwanese offshore wind projects, supporting Taiwan’s energy transition and UK businesses.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure continued support for military and dual-use technology exports to Taiwan, including through the maintenance of existing export licences.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The UK operates one of the most transparent export licensing systems in the world. There is a long record of the UK granting licences for exports of controlled goods to Taiwan, on a case-by-case basis, where those applications are consistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
The Department for Business and Trade provides advice and support to prospective exporters of controlled goods where there is a reasonable expectation of securing licenses, but the support will vary with an individual case’s circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the number and frequency of 'freedom of navigation' operations through contested areas in the East and South China Seas, including the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely comment on future deployments for reasons of operational security. However, the UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the East and South China Seas along with the Taiwan Strait, and remains committed to upholding international law and to freedom of navigation.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a cybersecurity dialogue with Taiwan similar to the UK–Singapore Cyber Dialogue; and whether they intend to support Taiwanese participation in the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, to address shared cybersecurity challenges.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK-Singapore Cyber Dialogue held on 13 June 2023 in London was followed by a second iteration in Singapore from 12-13 June 2024. The Dialogues strengthen our close ties on cyber collaboration and align our approaches in cyber governance and tackling cyber threats.
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. We do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship with deep and growing ties in a range of areas, underpinned by shared democratic values. We support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite, and as an observer or guest where it is.