On 18 May, the Taipei Representative Office in the UK (TRO) hosted a dinner reception to celebrate the first anniversary of President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration. Held at London’s Grand Imperial Hotel in Victoria, the dinner was attended by more than 40 guests. These included six ambassadors and high commissioners, parliamentarians, academics, and members of the overseas Taiwanese community.
In his speech at the dinner, Representative Lin focused on the new direction taken by the Tsai administration, informing the audience on the progress of the New Southbound Policy, the Infrastructure Development Programme, and efforts to modernise Taiwan’s innovative industries. He hailed the economic advances made under President Tsai, citing Taiwan’s raised economic growth forecasts and the increasing strength of the New Taiwan Dollar as evidence of the administration’s success. The Representative also expressed Taiwan’s dedication to achieving meaningful participation in international organisations such as APEC, the WTO, ICAO, the UNFCCC, and the WHA, stressing that Taiwan’s exclusion from this year’s WHA was an affront to its 23 million citizens.
The High Commissioner for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, H.E. Mr Cenio E. Lewis, also delivered a speech at the event. He lauded the progress of the Tsai administration in advancing Taiwan’s international ties and paid tribute to Taiwan’s contribution to the wider international community in fields such as health and foreign aid. The High Commissioner said that Taiwan is among the strongest allies of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and expressed his pleasure at the long history of Taiwanese collaboration. As a recent example, he quoted Taiwan’s prominent role in the construction of St. Vincent’s new Argyle International Airport, which opened in February.
