Taiwan: History, politics and UK relations
This briefing looks at Taiwan’s history and politics, membership of international organisations, and relationship with other states, including the UK.
Taiwan is an island in the South China Sea, around 100 miles off the coast of China, on which nearly 24 million people live. The Communist-controlled People’s Republic of China, based on mainland China, considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must return to the mainland’s control.
According to Taiwan’s constitution its official name is the Republic of China. This is a remnant of a political entity formed on the Chinese mainland more than 100 years ago. The Republic of China does not officially recognise the People’s Republic, and its constitution still asserts sovereignty over mainland China.
The People’s Republic of China’s ‘One China’ principle asserts that Taiwan is an integral part of China, and as part of this, that other countries must only maintain official diplomatic relations with itself. It also opposes Taiwan’s participation in international organisations.
The UK, like most other countries, does not recognise Taiwan as a state, nor does it maintain formal diplomatic relations with the island.
This briefing looks at Taiwan’s history and politics, membership of international organisations, and relationship with other states, including the UK.
Taiwan’s politics and approach to the mainlandTaiwan was a military dictatorship for several decades, and martial law was imposed between 1949 and 1987. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s Taiwan transitioned to democracy, holding its first direct presidential elections in 1996.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office describes Taiwan as a “stable, liberal democracy with a free press, independent judiciary, and a vibrant civil society”.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in January 2024, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, then Vice President William Lai Ching-te, won the contest, a third consecutive victory for the DPP, the first time this has been achieved in the democratic era. The DPP did support declaring formal independence for Taiwan in the 1990s. But under the leadership of former President Tsai Ing-wen, its policy became supporting the status-quo, stating that Taiwan is already independent as the Republic of China (PDF).
The other main political party, the Kuomintang (KMT), still formally supports the Republic of China’s sovereignty over the whole of China. When in power over the last few decades, it has generally sought to defuse tensions with the People’s Republic of China, however, and build economic and social ties with the mainland.
In the 2024 parliamentary elections the DPP lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament. The KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party, the third largest in parliament, have formed an alliance blocking many of the DPP’s policies, attempting to reform Taiwan’s political institutions and imposing budget cuts, including on defence spending.
International recognition of TaiwanOnly 12 nations recognise Taiwan as a state and have formal diplomatic ties with it. The UK is part of the majority that do not. In recent years, the People’s Republic of China has been putting countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan under greater pressure to break ties.
Countries and international organisations will often refer to Taiwan officially by the name of its capital, Taipei, or sometimes Chinese Taipei.
UK-Taiwan relationsThe UK Government says the dispute between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China should be resolved “through dialogue, in line with the views of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait”. It has no plans to recognise Taiwan as a state. The UK does support Taiwan’s participation in international organisations as an observer.
The UK’s diplomatic presence on the island is maintained through an outpost called the British Office Taipei.
Relations between the UK and Taiwan have strengthened over the last few years. Part of the reason was the UK’s foreign policy aim to “tilt to the Indo-Pacific” set out in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, under the previous Conservative government.
The UK has in recent years sent its warships on operations in the waters around Taiwan, which has angered China. The UK has, however, ruled out providing military assistance to Taiwan.
The issue on which Taiwan and UK most regularly engage is trade, and the two sides have held annual ministerial trade talks since 1991. In November 2023, the UK and Taiwan signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement that “aims to strengthen bilateral trade and investment relations between Taiwan and the UK”.
Further readingFor more on Taiwan see Library research briefings: