{"id":241553,"date":"2025-07-06T02:03:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T02:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/241553\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T02:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T02:03:26","slug":"taiwan-test-british-fail-cepa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/241553\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan Test: British Fail – CEPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dilemma has been burning a hole in British officials\u2019 desks. In fact, two holes. One case concerns the singer Taylor Swift. Would she be whisked through the streets of London with a VIP police escort<\/a> for her concerts at Wembley Stadium in August? Swift is not a politician, but she represents a music business that gives joy to millions and generates<\/a> much-needed jobs, taxes, and profits. Her previous concert in Austria<\/a> was canceled because of a bomb threat. Leaving her stuck in London\u2019s traffic would be rude and perhaps dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n

British decision-makers decided to be generous. Swift got her blue flashing lights<\/a>, though a row is now raging about free concert tickets for politicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other case involves Tsai Ing-wen<\/a>, Taiwan\u2019s ex-president. Her request was more modest: use of the diplomatic VIP channel at London\u2019s Heathrow Airport at the start of a trip to meet British lawmakers who support the island\u2019s democracy. The guardians of Britain\u2019s security first agreed to this when the visit was planned some months ago. It is a reasonable wish: British MPs visiting Taiwan are treated with great courtesy and generosity. Making the geopolitical superstar queue at passport control along with regular travelers would be a boon to the bullies of Bejing, who claim that Taiwan is a rebel province and that its rulers are imposters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, with David Lammy\u2019s first trip to China as foreign secretary looming, officials got cold feet. They asked the hosts \u2014 British lawmakers who support Taiwan \u2014 to postpone the trip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This makes Britain look clueless and cowardly. Officials could have planned Lammy\u2019s trip before or safely after Tsai\u2019s visit to London. Or they could have just decided to tough it out. Other countries are a lot firmer. Tsai will be meeting lawmakers and other dignitaries in Prague, Paris, and Brussels during the other legs of her European trip. That will doubtless prompt spluttering fury in Beijing. Fine, but the best response to that is to let them splutter. The more countries treat Taiwan decently, the harder it is to feign outrage. It is also worth underlining that lawmakers in Western political systems act independently; they are not controlled by their governments or by the ruling party. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bureaucrats may struggle to grasp this. We should help them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By contrast, signaling weakness just guarantees more bullying. The CCP is trying to create a \u201cnew normal\u201d in which even the slightest official or public recognition of Taiwan\u2019s existence is impermissible. This is why Taiwan had to compete as \u201cChinese Taipei\u201d at the Olympics in Paris. Chinese pressure has, in past years, blocked Taiwanese participation in the Lord Mayor\u2019s Show<\/a>, the annual street party for the City of London. Business websites<\/a> do not list Taiwan in their drop-down menus for the choice of country. This is not just humiliating for the direct victims. It is humiliating for everyone who helps implement this neurotic Chinese taboo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The damage is not only symbolic. Taiwan matters hugely to Britain\u2019s security. It produces over 90% of the world\u2019s advanced chips, vital to our competitiveness and to our critical national infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0We should be worrying less about annoying the permanently angry communist bureaucrats in Beijing and more about offending our friendly suppliers in Taipei.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At stake is Britain\u2019s credibility. If we let other countries push us around on small things, it salami-slices our deterrence when it comes to big things. Tsai\u2019s postponed trip to Britain next year may not fill Wembley Stadium. But every self-respecting British public figure should be clamoring to see her. \u201cBreaking all my rules to see you,\u201d to quote<\/a> Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

Edward Lucas<\/a> is a Non-resident Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).<\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s Edge<\/a>\u00a0is CEPA\u2019s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe\u2019s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.\u00a0CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.<\/p>\n

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Date: June 5, 2025
Time: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm CET<\/p>\n

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