Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in a video played at the European Parliament on Tuesday that Taiwan must deepen its ties with like-minded partners in the face of Chinese pressure and warned that if Taiwan cannot defend democracy, it would be a tragedy for the development of democracy in the world.
Wu’s video message was delivered during a banquet hosted by Representative to the EU and Belgium Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) and Werner Langen, chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, to honor the group’s members.
Wu said Taiwan and the EU are partners who share core values such as freedom, democracy and human rights. Those shared values are “why Taiwan is able to work together with the EU, and why our relationship is getting closer and stronger,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“Faced with pressure from China, Taiwan is sparing no effort in consolidating relationships with allies and people with substantive relationships with my country, such as European countries, the US and Japan,” Wu said.
“If Taiwan can’t defend its hard-won democracy, it would be a tremendous tragedy not only for Taiwan, but also for the development of democracy worldwide,” he said, adding that the EU is a crucial source of support for Taiwan in the fight to consolidate democracy.
He also expressed gratitude to members of the European Parliament for their support for Taiwan over the years and voiced hope for further cooperation to advance EU-Taiwan relations.
In related news, Poland on Monday became the first European nation to sign a bilateral agreement with Taiwan on criminal and judicial cooperation.
Wu and Polish Deputy Minster of Justice Lukasz Piebiak presided over the signing of the agreement, which covers mutual judicial assistance, extradition, the handover of culprits and a channel for the two sides to exchange examples of rulings in past cases.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
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