German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas on Wednesday last week voiced his opposition to China’s threat of using military force, making him the highest-ranking foreign official to speak out against Beijing’s Taiwan policy in several years.
Wong Ming-hsien (翁明賢), a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, on Saturday said that Maas’ remarks are part of German efforts to counter China’s rise as the EU becomes increasingly aware of the problems resulting from Beijing’s growing influence in the world.
Maas made the remarks at the German Bundestag, after Germany-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman Klaus-Peter Willsch, a Christian Democratic Union lawmaker, asked him about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) Jan. 2 speech.
Photo: AFP
In an address in Beijing on the 40th anniversary of the “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan,” Xi said that he would not renounce the use of force against foreign forces and pro-Taiwanese independence “separatists” that interfere with China’s goal of peaceful unification as he announced plans to explore a Taiwanese version of the “one country, two systems” model.
The German government would make clear, as it has in the past, that it disagrees with Beijing’s threat of military force against Taiwan, Maas said.
China has at least once persuaded individual EU members to block proposals about Taiwan that have come before the Council of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, he said, adding that he hoped the EU would adopt majority rule, instead of requiring unanimity, and share Germany’s stance on issues related to Taiwan.
Germany has always believed in resolving cross-strait issues by peaceful means, German Minister for European Affairs Michael Roth said in a written response to the session.
Cross-strait dialogues should take place based on mutual respect, and the “status quo” should not be changed unless both sides agree, he added.
Commenting on Maas’ remarks, Wong said that China, in its rise, has been responsible for many problems worldwide, such as Beijing’s crackdowns on human rights in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Tibet, as well as alleged attempts to gather intelligence from other governments through Huawei Technologies Co.
Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” plan and Germany’s “Industry 4.0” plan are mutually exclusive, and although China is Germany’s third-biggest market, the German government would not allow their trading partnership to affect its foreign policies, he said.
Germany’s attempts to counter China’s rise can be in part attributed to efforts by the nation’s representative offices abroad, he said.
As Germany is a federal republic, the Taiwanese government should consider promoting Taiwan through enhanced civic exchanges with local governments in Germany, he added.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS