Bilateral relations
Canada
and
Taiwan
(also known as
Republic of China
) have maintained unofficial bilateral relations since 1970. First contacts between Canada and Taiwan began in 1871 with the arrival of
George Leslie Mackay
.
Relations between Canada and the
ROC
were established in 1942. Since Canada's recognition of the
People's Republic of China
as the sole representative of "China" in 1970, there are no ambassadorial relations between Canada and Taiwan due to the
Chinese government
's
One-China policy
, but there are strong ties of trade and culture between the two entities since at least 1986. Officially, Canada "takes note" of China's claim to Taiwan without endorsing or challenging this position.
[
citation needed
]
History
[
edit
]
Early contacts
[
edit
]
George Leslie Mackay
moved to Taiwan in 1871 as the island's first Presbyterian missionary.
[1]
He worked at the Canadian Mission's
Tamsui
outpost as a teacher and
dentist
.
[2]
Relations between Canada and
China
were established on January 9, 1909. Canada posted its first ambassador for the
Republic of China
in 1942 located in the wartime capital of
Chongqing
. The embassy was then moved to the permanent capital of
Nanjing
in 1946. However, with the
Communist
victory over the
Nationalists
, which caused them to retreat to
Taiwan
, formerly a
Qing prefecture
that was under
Japanese dominion
for 50 years, while the Communists established the
People's Republic of China
, the Canadian embassy in Nanjing was kept open until February 26, 1951.
[
citation needed
]
Modern history
[
edit
]
After the Nationalists withdrew to Taiwan, Canada continued to recognize the Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of "China" even after Japan relinquished the claims to Taiwan and Penghu upon the signing of the
Treaty of San Francisco
on April 28, 1952. Owing to the
controversy
, the
Louis St. Laurent
cabinet
concluded on January 25, 1955 that Canada's position on the status of Taiwan and Penghu remains undetermined.
[3]
On 13 October 1970, Canada recognized
People's Republic of China
(PRC) and suspended diplomatic relations with the
Republic of China
(ROC) in Taiwan.
[4]
In the
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
Canada supported the
People's Republic of China
(PRC) as the successor state of the
Republic of China
. After diplomatic relations between
Canada
and the ROC were suspended, both diplomatic missions were replaced by representative offices.
[
citation needed
]
Presently, the
Government of the Republic of China
maintains the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada
(
Chinese
:
駐加拿大臺北經濟文化代表處
) in
Ottawa
,
[5]
and two other offices in
Vancouver
[6]
and
Toronto
.
[7]
Taiwan External Trade Development Council
also has offices in
Toronto
and
Vancouver
.
[8]
The
Government of Canada
established the
Canadian Trade Office in Taipei
(CTOT) in 1986 during the days of
Brian Mulroney
. During the mandate of
Stephen Harper
the CTOT expanded and moved to the
Xinyi District
of
Taipei
.
[9]
In October 2019,
Stephen Harper
visited Taipei as a private citizen to attend the
Yushan Forum
, promote his book,
Right Here, Right Now
, and give a speech that was described as a "thinly-veiled criticism of China's economic model" by the Globe and Mail.
[10]
In 2024 British Columbia opened a trade office in Taiwan. Called the British Columbia Trade and Investment Representative Office it is located in Taipei.
[11]
Economic
[
edit
]
In 2019, Taiwan was reportedly the fifth-largest trading partner in
Asia
of Canada.
[12]
The main exports from Canada to Taiwan are
metal ore
,
mineral oil
,
asphalt
,
wood
,
coal
,
nickel
,
meat
and
railway vehicles
.
[13]
Canada is the 24th largest trade partner of Taiwan, which exported to Canada over $1.5bn worth of goods and services in 2017?18, ranking it 19th on the Canadian list.
[14]
The main exports from Taiwan to Canada were
[
date missing
]
mobile devices
,
recording equipment
,
boilers
,
steel
products, and
plastic
products.
[
citation needed
]
In 2018, the
balance of trade
between Taiwan and Canada in 2018 was 47.9 billion Canadian dollars in favour of the Taiwanese.
[10]
As the
Canadian difficulties with China mounted in 2019
, academics like
Hugh Stephens
suggested that the Taiwanese relationship be fostered and promoted, which he saw as being consistent with Canada's democratic values. He would encourage the accession of Taiwan to the
CPTPP
, and noted that Taiwanese membership with the
WTO
allowed
New Zealand
to sign an
FTA
with Taiwan in 2013.
[12]
In October 2023, it was announced that Canada and Taiwan has completed negotiations on a foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement.
[15]
Taiwanfest
[
edit
]
Taiwanfest began in 1990 in Vancouver by musical/cultural magnate Cecilia Chueh as a music festival but expanded to include various cultural events. From 2006 onwards, it is also expanded and celebrated in Toronto.
[16]
See also
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]
References
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]
External links
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