British Office Taipei Representative Ruth Bradley-Jones marked her one-year posting in Taiwan with a tea party on Wednesday, expressing delight at the Chimei Museum’s collaboration with the British Museum. She hopes UK-Taiwan ties will deepen, not only culturally but also in facing shared challenges, supply chains, and R&D partnerships. 

The British Office in Taiwan hosted a “Southern Taiwan gratitude tea party” at the Chimei Museum, inviting partners to view the special exhibit “King of Egypt: Pharaoh.” Attendees included American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene, AIT Kaohsiung Branch Chief Neil Gibson, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Kaohsiung Office Chief Mr. Masafumi Oku, and southern county and city officials.   

Bradley-Jones, appointed in February 2025, opened her remarks in Taiwanese, noting her 2022 visit to Tainan to understand the “real Taiwan” beyond Taipei, including its former capital. Unlike traditional road trips, renting a bicycle and blasting music, Taiwan's clean high-speed rail, shared bikes, and punctual buses delivered a “shock education,” she said. 

She recounted playing pinball on Lukang Old Street, drinking roasted wheat flour tea, trying peanut roll ice-cream for the first time, falling for Tainan and Danzai noodles, and strolling through Taijiang National Park and Anping Fort. Citing the proverb “Fucheng (Tainan) comes first, Lukang second, Monga (Wanhua) third,” she said it captures Tainan’s power and prosperity, sensing deep history in the ancient city. 

Joking, Bradley-Jones added, “Of course, Egyptian pharaohs might have different views on ‘ancient,’ but let's ignore them for now.” The exhibit’s 100,000 earlybird tickets sold out in an hour, reflecting Taiwanese people’s understated yet profound cultural appreciation. She expects ongoing museum-UK cultural ties.

Beyond culture, Bradley-Jones stressed the UK’s seriousness about Taiwan's cooperation on security challenges, supply chain protection, and R&D to keep its strengths robust. “Unity makes us stronger,” she said. 

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) playfully echoed by adding “Don’t forget Yuejin comes fourth,” noting this year’s Lantern Festival along the Yuejin Harbor. Huang and Chimei Museum Director Hsu Chia-chang (許家彰) both affirmed close Tainan-UK exchanges, hoping for future exhibits to position Tainan as an international culture hub.

The museum’s first partnership with the British Museum features Taiwan’s largest Pharaohs exhibit ever, with 280 artifacts such as jewelry, grave goods, stone carvings, coffins, and letters, exploring the Ramses II and Tutankhamun eras. It runs through January 10, 2027.