President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday urged European nations to support liberal, democratic Taiwan at a time when a rising China is affecting the global landscape.
In a recorded speech at a seminar held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Tsai said China is undermining the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait and its rapid rise is changing the global order in place since the end of World War II.
At the opening of the Taiwan-sponsored seminar titled “China Factor: Resistance is Futile? — Taiwan as a Case Study,” Tsai said in a video that Taiwan is aware of the challenges posed by China and that its actions have “not served to drive Taiwan to Beijing, but encouraged us to look at where our friends and partners are, in countries that share our values and interests.”
Photo: CNA
Since 2016, China has stepped up its pressure on democratic Taiwan and tried hard to squeeze its economy and international space, Tsai said.
China has been working to destabilize Taiwan and undermine Taiwanese trust in the nation’s democratic institutions, she said.
However, China’s actions have only strengthened Taiwan’s resolve that freedom and democracy, not fear, would continue to determine the future of the nation’s 23 million people, she said.
“At this critical juncture in human history, Taiwan understands, better than any country in the world, how important it is that those values survive,” Tsai said. “As a small democracy trying to engage with the world’s most powerful non-democratic country, Taiwan is resilient and determined to safeguard our precious democracy.”
However, these challenges are not for Taiwan alone and the nation is seeking support from friends and partners that share the same values, she said.
“We do need your support. A liberal democratic order can only survive if like-minded countries, including our European partners, work together for the greater good,” she said. “I’m calling on all like-minded countries to display the same spirit that led to the founding of a union across Europe in 1951: the clear-eyed sense that only by coming together can we protect our values and our future,” she said.
The speech, which lasted about 4 minutes, 30 seconds, received plenty of applause from the audience at the seminar, which was hosted by the European Federation of Taiwanese Associations.
In response to Tsai’s speech, Ivan Stefanec, a Slovak member of the European Parliament, said the EU and Taiwan have forged close ties and that the union should pay more attention to democratic development in Taiwan and Asia.
He called for more exchanges between Taiwan and the EU in economics, education and culture.
Stefanec, who has visited Taiwan several times and is familiar with cross-strait relations, said China’s rise is a very important issue not only in global economics, but also in international politics, so the EU needs to keep an eye on the latest developments.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS