Han Kuo-yu tells visiting UK MPs Taiwan needs a new parliament building

Sep 18, 2026

Taiwan's legislative speaker Han Kuo-yu used a meeting with visiting British lawmakers to push for a new parliament building, a neutral-to-positive story for Taiwan-UK ties and a nudge on a decades-old domestic debate.

  • Han hosted a cross-party UK delegation led by Sarah Champion, co-chair of the British-Taiwanese parliamentary group, with lawmakers from the KMT, DPP, and TPP joining in.
  • Han said Britain's parliament looks like a prince's home while Taiwan's legislature looks like a beggar's, and that the fight over rebuilding it has dragged on for 30 years.
  • He wants a modern new legislature that matches Taiwan's wealth and growth, and said there is broad domestic support for the idea.
  • Han pointed to strong trade ties: the UK is Taiwan's fourth-largest trading partner in Europe, and Taiwan is the second-biggest Asian investor there, with 260 Taiwanese firms operating in Britain.
  • Champion said most of her group was visiting for the first time, framed the trip as a show of support for democracy at a time it is fading globally, and praised Taiwan's public health system, business climate, and skill at countering foreign disinformation.

Outlook: Expect more parliamentary exchanges between Taipei and London aimed at deepening trade cooperation, while the new-parliament proposal remains a long shot without a political breakthrough at home.

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