Former West German president Walter Scheel on Tuesday called for both sides of the Taiwan Strait not to resort to force under any circumstances in dealing with cross-strait differences.
Scheel, in a speech at the Double Ten National Day cocktail party in Berlin, quoted President Chen Shui-bian (
In his speech, the 85-year-old Scheel said that Taiwan's democratization and the freedom that its people enjoy are facts that deserve the respect of the international community.
Annual two-way trade between Taiwan and Germany has reached some 1 billion euros, making Taiwan one of Germany's major trade partners in Asia, Scheel said.
He also expressed his appreciation to the National Palace Museum for having arranged for its flagship collections to be exhibited in Germany, allowing the German people to savor the magnificent Chinese culture without having to travel to China.
Scheel said he hopes that Taiwan and Germany will enhance their bilateral cultural exchanges in the future.
Meanwhile, Wolfgang Lueder, chairman of the German China Association, praised Taiwan and its people in his speech to the cocktail party.
Citing the story of a Taiwanese farmer who planted Chinese mushrooms in a Berlin suburb and went on to market his produce throughout Europe, Lueder said that Taiwan's people have been important investors in Germany beyond the high-tech field.
Lueder said that Taiwan -- with its economic strength and high level of human rights -- would be worthy of being invited by German politicians to join the EU if the island were located in the Mediterranean Sea. His remarks received loud applause from those attending the cocktail party.
Established in Germany 47 years ago, the German China Association has been an influential private organization devoted to relations between the German and Chinese people.
Since its inception it has maintained close interactions with Taiwan.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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