A delegation led by Lord Faulkner, deputy speaker of the U.K. House of Lords, recently wrapped up an eight-day trip to Taiwan aimed at advancing railway and green energy collaboration between the two sides, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This visit underscores the importance attached by the U.K. to bilateral cooperation in the railway and renewable energy sectors,” the MOFA said Jan. 29, adding that it will contribute to a further deepening of substantive exchanges.
In country until Jan. 31 at the invitation of the British Office in Taipei, the delegation participated in the sixth Taiwan-U.K. Railway Forum, held discussions on renewable energy issues with officials from the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration and attended an experimental concert organized by the Ministry of Culture.
Other scheduled activities included calls at the MOFA, Ministries of Economic Affairs and Transportation and Communications, Taiwan Railways Administration, and Changhua County and Hsinchu City governments.
During the concert combining heritage assets, lights and music Jan. 27 at Taipei Railway Workshop, Ten Drum Art Percussion Group based in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City wowed the audience with a dynamic performance drawing on local themes and diverse ethnic elements. The effect was heightened by the backdrop of three retired TRA EMU100 rail cars and a Japanese 583-series sleeper.
Commencing service 39 years ago in Taiwan, the U.K.-built EMU100 was known locally as “British Maiden” and the less flattering “British Grandma” toward the end of its operational life in 2009. The electric rail car held the record for the fastest journey of four hours from Taipei City to southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City in 1979.
MOC Deputy Minister Pierre Tzu-pao Yang said he anticipates events like the concert as playing an important role in promoting Taiwan-U.K. cultural exchanges. Through this kind of cultural experience, the ministry hopes to propel Taiwan percussion and railway culture onto the world stage, he added.
Lord Faulkner, who was appointed the first-ever U.K. trade envoy to Taiwan in January 2016, is a member and former chairman of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group. In November the same year, he led a sustainable railway development delegation comprising representatives of 17 U.K. companies and organizations to Taiwan for the fifth Taiwan-U.K. Railway Forum.
The British lawmaker’s second last trip to Taiwan in September 2017 saw him take part in the signing ceremony for a cooperation pact between Alishan Forest Railway in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County and Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Preservation Co. Ltd. of the U.K. Under the agreement, the two sides are sharing experience and technical skills, as well as working together in promoting both narrow-gauge railways in the international market. (JSM)
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