Four Scottish parliamentarians visit Taiwan

mofa.gov.tw

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Date: 2017/10/12 Data Source: Public Diplomacy Coordination Council
October 12, 2017
No.182

Four members of the Scottish parliament, James Dornan, Michelle Lorraine Ballantyne, Jeremy Ross Balfour, and Daniel Guy Johnson, visited Taiwan from October 8 to 12 at the invitation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) government. Their visit gave them a better understanding of Taiwan’s recent political, economic, and social developments and helped enhance bilateral cooperation in such areas as economics, trade, tourism, culture, and education.

During their stay, the delegation attended ROC National Day celebrations and related activities on October 10. The parliamentarians also called at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Development Council, Mainland Affairs Council, Kaohsiung City government, British Office Taipei, and Scottish Development International’s Taiwan office. They also attended a reception held in their honor by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Through Taipei Representitive [sic} Office in the U.K., Edinburgh Office, Taiwan maintains close contact with the public and private sectors in Scotland, while actively promoting bilateral exchanges in such areas as the economy, trade, and culture. Taiwan is the world’s fourth-largest importer of Scotch whisky, with sales reaching £175 million in 2016 alone. Edinburgh, a major international hub of culture and the arts, hosts such world-renowned events as the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where many Taiwanese arts groups have performed over the years. Scotland has attached great importance to green energy development in recent years. Thus, this May Taiwan sent a delegation to Glasgow for the first time to participate in All-Energy, the United Kingdom’s largest renewable energy event, thereby promoting bilateral exchanges in green energy technology. (E)