Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has discussed the threats posed by China and other issues with members of the European and Belgian parliaments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The statement came after the ministry refused to comment on earlier media reports that Wu, who is on a visit to Europe, would hold talks with officials at EU institutions in Brussels.
The ministry yesterday released photographs of Wu’s meeting with lawmakers, without giving a date or location of the meeting.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
The meeting was attended by members of the European Parliament from nine states, including Charlie Weimers of Sweden — the rapporteur of an “EU-Taiwan Relations and Cooperation” report passed last week — and the two chairmen of the Taiwan Friendship Group in the Belgian legislature, the ministry said.
Wu thanked EU lawmakers for passing the report with overwhelming support — 580 votes in favor, 26 votes against and 66 abstentions, it said.
The report is the first document passed by the European Parliament on Taiwan-EU relations and a milestone for bilateral ties, it added.
The Belgian Senate in March passed a resolution in support of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that also called for diplomatic measures to ease tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, the ministry said.
During the meeting, Wu discussed the threats posed by China, security in the Taiwan Strait, the situation in Hong Kong, Taiwan’s ambitions to participate in the UN system and plans to promote interactions between young people from Taiwan and Europe, it said.
Wu asked the lawmakers to urge the EU to start negotiations with Taiwan about an investment agreement, which would require an impact assessment, scope definition, public consultations and other preparations, it said.
On Friday, Wu adressed a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China in Rome via videoconference, telling the group that the EU is the biggest investor in Taiwan, while Taiwan invests relatively little in Europe.
Asked about what the EU could do to address the situation, Wu said: “We think we need to make a balance.”
The two sides would need a mechanism to encourage Taiwanese businesses to regard Europe as a potential market, he said, adding that a bilateral investment agreement would promote that.
There had been discussions on such an agreement in 2015, but the talks were postponed, as many European countries said they wanted to strike a deal with China first, Wu said.
“Taiwan was being held hostage,” as many European countries would not talk with Taiwan about investment before signing a deal with China, Wu said.
However, now that the discussions on the draft EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment are on hold, it is a good time for the bloc to think more seriously about a deal with Taiwan, he said.
Separately, the ministry on Friday denied a report by China’s English-language Global Times that Wu’s “checkbook visit could divide Europe’s China policy.”
Wu’s delegation to Europe, as well as separate delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), aim to promote mutually beneficial ties based on shared values in democracy and freedom, it said.
The Global Times’ smear campaign against the delegations is motivated by malign purposes, the ministry said, adding that the newspaper is a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, which has no respect for democracy and the rule of the law.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS