Exclusive:China university visa threat sparks U-turn on Taiwan 'friendship' deal by Scottish council

One of Scotland’s biggest local authorities has pulled contentious plans to sign an official ‘friendship arrangement’ with a major Taiwanese city amid reported warnings and threats from Chinese officials, as well as concerns from major Scottish businesses.

Councillors in Edinburgh had been due to consider the five-year-long deal between Scotland’s capital and the port city of Kaohsiung later this week. However, the proposal has now been withdrawn from Thursday’s full meeting of the council, with leader Cammy Day accepting that “more discussion is required”, having taken into account “the views of the business community and other partners”.

It has been reported that were the arrangement to have been signed by Edinburgh’s Lord Provost as originally planned, it would have been perceived by China as a formal deal with Taiwan, and could have sparked a diplomatic backlash, including the prospect of Beijing blocking all visas for Chinese students at universities in Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland. One leading business in the city said the prospect of Chinese sanctions was “simply far too big a risk to take”.

John McLellan, a former Edinburgh councillor and Scotsman columnist, last week wrote that he was told the Chinese Consul General had warned of “dire consequences” if the friendship agreement with Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city, was voted through.

The UK does not recognise Taiwan as a state, nor does it maintain formal diplomatic relations with the island. However, it supports Taiwan’s participation in international organisations as an observer and regularly engages with it on trade issues.

It is understood the report that had been due to come before councillors later this week proposed the arrangement be signed by the city’s Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge. The arrangement would have been “in effect” for five years from the date of signing. It also included an option to extend the arrangement for a further five years, subject to the agreement of both parties.

Documents seen by The Scotsman state the agreement was “building and a principle of mutual benefit”, and said the deal would “strengthen commercial and innovation cooperation to improve shared prosperity and development within the net zero, digital infrastructure, and microelectronics industries”.

The lush green view at the Old College at University of Edinburgh. There are concerns the signing of a 'friendship deal' with a Taiwan city could spark a backlash from China, including the blocking of all visas for students studying in universities across Scotland. Picture: Getty Images

However, Cllr Day confirmed the friendship plans for the arrangement with Kaohsiung, which has a population of around 2.7 million and is regarded as one of Taiwan’s main industrial hubs, would now be looked at in more detail.

He told The Scotsman: “Edinburgh is a truly international city, enjoying valuable and long-standing relationships with cities across the world, and I’m incredibly proud of the friendship we’ve built with Kaohsiung over many years.

“However, having taken on board the views of the business community and other partners, we’ve decided that more discussion is required before taking this agreement forward. We’ll continue this dialogue and report back to a future council meeting. In the meantime, I remain in no doubt that developing these types of relationships with progressive and open-minded cities like ours is absolutely the right thing to do for the people of Edinburgh.”

Several major business organisations, including the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, had raised concerns about the arrangement. Essential Edinburgh, the company behind the city’s Business Improvement District, said while it fully supported a working relationship with Kaohsiung, any such relationship “should stop short of formally signing a friendship agreement”.

Cammy Day, the leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said he had "taken on board the views of the business community and other partners." Picture: Ian Georgeson

Roddy Smith, the firm’s chief executive, said: “Chinese students and visitors play a crucial role in the Edinburgh and Scottish economy, supporting our retail, tourism and hospitality sectors amongst many others. Our visiting Chinese students are key components of our university population and bring vital revenue into the city.

“The Hainan flight into Edinburgh Airport has played a key role in strengthening the connections between Scotland and China. Through the work of ETAG and the China Ready project, industry has worked exceptionally hard to drive partnerships with China as well as prepare our city’s businesses for Chinese visitors.

“We understand that it is unclear if the Chinese government would impose any sanctions on Edinburgh if this agreement were signed, but it is simply far too big a risk to take. The impact on our city economy would run into millions of pounds and potentially adversely impact many businesses and institutions in the city and beyond. We look forward to further discussions on this topic in the future.”

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “The City of Edinburgh Council's own draft report outlined a number of risks, but there was a lack of detail and debate about the potential impact of the risks that were alluded to.

“A range of things were mentioned, such as the current relationship with China and the benefits it brings, and we felt it would be wise for all of us to better understand the potential extent of the risks involved to allow all of us to make a fully informed decision.”

The University of Edinburgh said it was aware of the agreement proposal and was “contributing to discussions”.

In recent years, the council has forged close ties with Taiwan. In March 2022, Cllr Day submitted a motion marking Edinburgh’s friendship with Taiwan. It also proposed the council’s chief executive, Andrew Kerr, develop a potential memorandum of understanding to “help foster the existing collaborations”.

Officials in Edinburgh subsequently held discussions with the Edinburgh office of the Taipei Representative Office (TRO) in the UK, as well as mayors in Kaohsiung and Tainan. The feedback from the engagement with the TRO was that work should be carried out to strengthen and develop “informal collaborations”.

Last March, Cllr Day attended the Smart Cities Summit in Taipei. During his time in Taiwan, letters of intent were signed with the mayors of Kaohsiung and Tainan to “develop the ties”. The trip was fully funded by the Taiwanese government.

Cllr Alys Mumford, co-convenor of the Edinburgh council’s Green group, said: "If it is indeed the case that a decision due to be taken by democratically elected councillors about Edinburgh's relationship with another nation has been deferred due to Chinese state interference, we would have very serious concerns.

"The council leader must urgently clarify why these so-called concerns were not highlighted earlier, and reassure the city that it is their elected representatives, not businesses or governments, who make decisions about the future of Edinburgh's relationships."

The Chinese Consulate General in Edinburgh and the Taipei Representative Office in the UK's Edinburgh office have been approached for comment.