A statement by 155 members of the European Parliament expressing support for Taiwan’s democracy and its participation in international activities was delivered to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday.
The support is a welcome gesture for isolated Taiwan and it was not the first time that European politicians have voiced support for the nation.
In 2003, Chris Patten — the last British governor of Hong Kong and then-European commissioner for external relations — said in an interview with Politico that the EU was committed to Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
He also said that a new EU office to be opened in Taipei at the time was partially aimed at monitoring Taiwan and ensuring it met its WTO commitments, suggesting that economic issues were important to the EU in its relations with Taiwan.
In 2011, a European delegation led by then-chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group Charles Tannock met with then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Tannock said that the European Parliament had passed several resolutions to back Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the WHO.
European politicians have long sought to support Taiwan for economic interests and out of sympathy for what it acknowledges as a strong, but isolated democracy.
However, the EU is limited in what it can do for Taiwan given its relations with China.
“Taiwan has impressed the international community, with its successful transition to democracy, and with the impressive economic prosperity it has achieved. At the same time, of course, the vast majority of countries sensibly follow a ‘one China’ policy,” Patten said.
Center for European Reform director Charles Grant described Europe’s precarious relations with Taiwan in an article published on the institution’s Web site on April 16, 2017. Europe is not an Asian power like the US, so its commitments in the region are less, and it must be careful that its friendliness toward Taiwan does not annoy China, he said.
This was evident in the statement presented to Tsai this week, which was carefully worded to urge China to refrain from military action against Taiwan while calling for peaceful cross-strait relations.
However, Grant also said that “European views have shifted somewhat over the past two years, to be slightly more sympathetic to Taiwan,” especially in light of China passing a “Taiwan secession law, which promises the use of force if Taiwan moves toward independence.”
Germany has a strong voice in the EU, and the leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who is critical of countries that abuse human rights — is also helpful for those in Europe sympathetic to Taiwan, he said.
Europe’s most recent resolutions regarding Taiwan make no specific mention of military commitments in the event of a conflict, but the lawmakers who signed them said that they were written in accordance with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The policy includes among its objectives an obligation to “preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter, as well as the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the objectives of the Paris Charter, including those on external borders.”
The EU has no standing army, but it sends missions around the world comprised of troops from its member countries.
As China increasingly demonstrates its disregard for human rights and democracy, Europe could become an ever more important defense partner for Taiwan.
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