A delegation of lawmakers from the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Relations Committee visited Europe last month in a bid to improve Taiwan's relations with Europe. Taiwan's presidential elections and the peaceful transition of power have won the affirmation and support of the EU and countries in Western Europe, and will thus help Taiwan as it tries to improve relations with the region.
On April 30, the European Parliament passed a resolution stressing the positive and constructive role that Taiwan could play in the region with regard to respect for human rights, the development of democracy and consolidation of rule of law.
The resolution welcomed the outcome of the presidential election as a further proof of Taiwan's development into a fully fledged democracy.
The resolution rejected all military threats and called on both China and Taiwan to refrain from any kind of provocative action and use dialogue and negotiations to find a solution to their differences.
It also welcomed the statements of Taiwan's newly elected president offering to the PRC the possibility of immediate negotiations on the establishment of trade relations and direct transportation.
The resolution called on EU member states and the commission to step up their relations with Taiwan with a view to securing it better representation in international forums (including the WTO) and to open a European Commission representative office in Taipei. It invited its delegation for relations with China to find ways of establishing relations with Taiwan's legislature.
The delegation of Taiwan's legislators held numerous meetings with members of the European Parliament and EU Council while in Brussels, to talk in depth about the EU setting up an office in Taiwan and strengthening bilateral relations.
I personally met with EU Commissioner Frederik Bolkestein and First Vice Chairman of European Parliament David Martin, two old friends. Both expressed their support for the establishment of an EU office in Taiwan as soon as possible.
To accomplish such a goal, Taiwan should take the initiative and set up a mission at the EU. Taiwan's relations with the EU have been handled by its representative office in Belgium.
To bolster its work with the EU, Taiwan needs a new and separate office to deal exclusively with the EU and commitment of additional staff and resources.
Taiwan previously announced that it would donate US$300 million to help victims and the states affected by the war in Kosovo, including not only Macedonia, but also Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and other countries. But the government ran into trouble trying to disburse the aid.
Getting the aid to those countries would be much easier if Taiwan were able to work in cooperation with the EU, other international organizations and NGOs in Europe. It would also increase Taiwan's visibility in the international community.
For many years, the DPP has been devoted to developing relations with the legislators and political parties of other countries, and such efforts are beginning to pay off.
Several European parties that were previously opposition parties now hold power and not a few parliamentarians hold important positions either in the European Parliament or the EU Commission.
They hold the DPP's commitment to democratic reform and establishing international relations in very high regard, and now that the DPP is the ruling party in Taiwan, they are even more willing to help Taiwan to participate in the international community.
As the US has been engaged in "preventative diplomacy" and taken "preventative defense" measures on China's bellicose rhetoric and military threats against Taiwan, I urged the European Parliament to extend both moral and political support to Taiwan and pressure China to refrain from its threat of force against Taiwan.
World history has shown that people of the same race can form many states. Several members of the European Parliament are thus very critical of Beijing's sustained attempts to unify Taiwan by force. They see Taiwan as a democratic country and the people in Taiwan have the right to decide their own future. If the people of Taiwan do not want to accept Beijing's rule, then China should not threaten use of force and pressure Taiwan into submission.
Since there are many politicians and intellectuals in Europe who support Taiwan, it is imperative for Taipei to appeal to them to broaden Taiwan's international support.
Because the US is vital to Taiwan's survival and security, Taipei tends to place too much stress on its relations with the US and overlooks the importance of Europe. However, US policy towards Taiwan may also be influenced by the policies of other countries, particularly that of Western Europe and Japan, hence Taipei should not slight its relations with other democratic states.
In addition to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Repre-sentative Office, Taiwan's unofficial embassy in Washington, Taiwan has also more than a dozen unofficial consulate-general offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities. Some of these offices have more staff members and larger budgets than Taiwan's "embassies" in many European capitals.
This is not justified. The new government should review its diplomatic priorities to place greater emphasis on its relations with Europe and reallocate resources accordingly.
Parris Chang is chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations at the Legislative Yuan and professor emeritus of political science at Penn State University.
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