TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release announced former UK Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat has arrived for a four-day visit to Taiwan that will continue until Wednesday.
Tugendhat was a long-serving Conservative Member of Parliament (2015-2024), with his most recent post as the Minister of State for Security (2022-2024). He has been a loyal supporter of Taiwan and the first sitting British minister to meet a member of Taiwan’s Cabinet, holding talks with then-Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳).
He is scheduled to meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and Legislative Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣).
He is also expected to interact with Taiwan’s top security officials such as Secretary-General of the National Security Council Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung (吳志中). He is scheduled to give the speech, "Taiwan: On the Front Line of Freedom," at a closed-door session at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
In MOFA's press release, it praised Tugendhat for expressing concern about China’s authoritarianism and human rights abuses, as well as his active defense of democracy and freedom. MOFA also noted that when serving as chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, he supported Taiwan's participation in international organizations by writing letters to the director-general of the World Health Organization.