Taipei, June 10 (CNA) Relations between Taiwan and the United Kingdom in the areas of trade, tourism and cultural exchanges have been going well, but Taiwan's reversion to death row executions is disappointing, the top British diplomat in Taipei indicated Wednesday.
Nonetheless, said David Campbell, Director of the British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) in Taipei, he is generally optimistic about the direction of the bilateral relations.
"Taiwan's decision last year to make two international human rights covenants part of its domestic law was widely welcomed," said Campbell in a speech at the celebration of Britain's Queen Elizabeth's birthday.
"It was all the more disappointing, therefore, to see in April the abrupt end to Taiwna's de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty," he said.
Campbell cited Taiwan's silver medal win for its orchids at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show and the Queen's visit to the Taiwan stand there last month as indicators of the scope of U.K.-Taiwan ties and the potential for Taiwan-made products to succeed in the U.K. market.
Although 2009 was a bad year for the global economy, Campbell said, U.K. exports to Taiwan were up 30 percent in the first quarter of 2010 over the same period last year.
According to Campbell, the number of Taiwanese visitors to the U.K. increased more than one third from previous years, after Taiwan was granted a visa-free privilege in March last year.
Campbell also said he was pleased to see strong educational links between the two countries. At any given time, there are at least 15,000 Taiwanese students studying in the U.K., which is the second most popular destination for overseas study among Taiwan students. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc