On 9 October, the TRO hosted a reception in celebration of the 108th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (Taiwan) at the National Liberal Club in London. In his remarks, Representative Lin underlined the steady growth of bilateral relations between the UK and Taiwan over the past year and thanked the UK for its support of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations. He cited the rising number of official exchanges, including Taiwan’s Science and Technology Minister Dr Liang-gee Chen’s visit to the UK in late March as well as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Mei-Hua Wang co-chairing the 22nd bilateral trade talks with UK Trade Policy Minister Conor Burns on 1 October. Representative Lin pointed out that in 2018 Taiwan was the 2nd fastest growing market for UK exports worldwide with growth up 40%. He also expressed hope that both sides can explore the possibility of pursuing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) in the near future.
In addition to Representative Lin, British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group Co-Chairs (APPG) Lord Rogan and Nigel Evans MP, APPG member Baroness D’Souza as well as Ambassador of Honduras and Dean of the Latin American Diplomatic Corps H.E. Ivan Romero-Martinez delivered speeches of support for Taiwan. A total of 450 people attended the reception, among who included prominent figures from UK politics, press and academia as well as members of London’s diplomatic corps. Several British parliamentarians, including Lord Bethell, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords Baroness Garden of Frognal, APPG Vice Chairmen Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and Andrew Rosindell MP were in attendance. Representatives from the embassies of Paraguay, Guatemala, Nicaragua, St Kitts & Nevis, the Holy See and other nations were also present. Councillor Ruth Bush, the Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster, as well as representatives of other local governments, including the City of London, York, Greenwich, Portsmouth, Peterborough and Southwark also joined the event.
