The other China or an emerging Taiwan? Democratic Taiwan in British foreign policy

The Centre of Taiwan Studies is delighted to welcome Max Dixon to explore how British parliamentarians and British and Taiwanese policymakers view Taiwan, and how perceptions of Taiwan will inform the trajectory of peace and stability in cross-Strait relations. 

This talk explores the trajectory of Taiwan in British foreign policy debates and perceptions in the 25 years following Taiwan’s first presidential election in 1996, when Taiwan was a relatively obscure concern in Whitehall, through to 2021 when The Economist labelled Taiwan as ‘the most dangerous place on earth’ and the United Kingdom outlined an ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ in British foreign policy. 

Resting on an analysis of framings of Taiwan within parliamentary debates and on interviews undertaken with foreign policymakers in both the United Kingdom and Taiwan, this talk explores how conceptions of Taiwan’s importance have shifted in Britain since Taiwan’s democratisation in the 1990s. 

As a close security ally of the US, the question of how Taiwan is perceived holds considerable significance in how the UK might respond to an escalation in cross-Strait relations, whilst also enabling an insight into the extent to which Taiwan’s democratisation and the emergence of a distinct Taiwanese identity has succeeded in reasserting Taiwan’s global presence, focusing on the salience of democratic Taiwan within the ‘Mother of Parliaments’. This talk will explore how British parliamentarians and British and Taiwanese policymakers view Taiwan, and how perceptions of Taiwan will inform the trajectory of peace and stability in cross-Strait relations.