00:00Let's start with the big picture. How would you describe the current state of UK-Taiwan relations
00:04at this moment? I think in a nutshell, we can say it is steadily growing and we have signed
00:14three pillar arrangements under enhanced trade partnership. We have signed an MOU on the skill
00:21training and talent training and we also have a pretty significant high profile visit such as a
00:32former president Tsai Ing-wen's visit in London and certainly we have a ministerial level visit
00:40from the British government to Taiwan as well. So actually we achieved a lot this year.
00:46A few months ago, China's ambassador to the UK published a controversial op-ed in a major
00:51newspaper. He stated that Taiwan is a Chinese territory and in strong language told the UK
00:56it must work with Beijing to quote restore the post-war order. Your office issued a rebuttal
01:03immediately. What was the core message you wanted the British public to take away from that rebuttal?
01:08My message was clear. Taiwan is not part of China and China has been trying to misinterpret
01:17the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2750A. As a matter of fact, that resolution
01:26did not touch upon Taiwan. It did not certainly, you know, give People's Republic of China any rise to
01:35represent the people of Taiwan in the United Nations and in any affiliate organization of the United Nations.
01:43So the message was very clear. So after that op-ed and your rebuttal was published,
01:49what kind of response did you get from the UK government? They actually have never responded
01:54to the public about China's narrative. But I can tell you that in private, the response was that they
02:03know clearly about the history and the background of all these historic documents.
02:12Now, there's another major flashpoint right now in the UK, and that's China's plan to build the
02:17so-called mega embassy near the Tower of London. There are a lot of local concerns about security.
02:23From your vantage point, what are the wider implications if that project is built as planned?
02:28We have been watching very closely the development of these all these events, including the mega
02:35embassy. We also have noticed that there are many, many Hong Kongers and even the British people are
02:45joining the demonstration to protest the potential establishment of this mega embassy.
02:53Now critics of the embassy have cited the potential for Chinese surveillance or espionage in and around
02:59the site. Have you or your staff encountered any direct issues with that kind of thing in London?
03:04I think for my office, per se, we just moved to a new office and we have gone through all the
03:13process to strengthen the security. We make sure that we use non-made in China surveillance equipments.
03:23We screen and vet the entire building to make sure that we don't have any bugs or some devices implanted by
03:34our enemy. For our nationals in the UK, certainly we are also very concerned about the so-called
03:44transnational repression that China is now talking about.
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