The European Parliament’s first delegation to Taiwan arrived yesterday in the nation for discussions on fighting disinformation, with delegation members scheduled to meet President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) today.
The 13-person delegation is visiting Taiwan on a three-day trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The delegation includes seven members of the “Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation”: committee president Raphael Glucksmann of France, Andrius Kubilius and Petras Austrevicius of Lithuania, Marketa Gregorova of the Czech Republic, Andreas Schieder of Austria, Georgios Kyrtsos of Greece and Marco Dreosto of Italy, the ministry said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
“The delegation will discuss Taiwanese experiences in [the] fight against disinformation; attempts at interference in Taiwanese democracy, media, culture and education; as well as Taiwan’s efforts to reinforce its cyberresilience,” the European Parliament said in a news release.
“Taiwan uses innovative tools and involves the whole Taiwanese society to address all types of interference in its democracy, without restricting freedom of speech and media,” it said.
It is the first time the European Parliament has sent an official delegation to Taiwan, which is significant, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement, adding that Tsai would meet with them at the Presidential Office this morning.
This year, the European Parliament has passed 12 resolutions friendly to Taiwan, showing that Taiwan-EU relations are becoming ever closer, Chang said.
Yesterday, the delegation met with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), the ministry said, adding that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) was to host a banquet for them on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
The delegation would attend a news conference at a hotel in Taipei tomorrow, the ministry added.
European Union Centre in Taiwan executive director Marc Cheng (鄭家慶) told the Taipei Times by telephone that while other European lawmakers have visited, this group got more attention due to the timing and nature of the visit.
The special committee was just created last year, and its members are visiting Taiwan at a time when Taiwan-US-China relations are changing and after the EU released a report titled The EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, he said.
While the European Parliament is playing an increasingly important role in the bloc and can influence its budget, whether its resolutions can sway the EU’s overall policies remains to be seen, he said.
Nonetheless, Taiwan-related issues are certainly grabbing more attention across Europe, he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS