Use of the phrase “democratic Taiwan” by Germany’s new coalition government in official document shows that Taiwan-China issues are not about “independence” against “unification,” but about democracy against authoritarianism, Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said yesterday.
Germany’s Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party and the Greens — known as the “traffic light coalition” for their colors — on Wednesday inked a coalition agreement following elections on Sept. 26.
The agreement, a blueprint for their governance for the next four years, mentions “Taiwan,” which is unprecedented, showing that the new German government is paying close attention to cross-strait peace and supports Taiwan’s participation in international affairs, Shieh wrote on Facebook in Mandarin.
Photo: AFP
In particular, the word “Taiwan” is modified by the adjective “demokratisch,” German for “democratic,” he said.
“As Taiwan’s envoy to Germany, I would like to express respect and gratitude to the new German government,” Shieh wrote.
The wording highlights that Taiwan-China issues are not about unification or independence, which is how Beijing and its proxies in Taiwan frame the debate to conceal the real problem, he said.
When the debate is reduced to a choice between unification and independence, that implies it is an internal affair, excluding outside intervention, which is exactly what China wants, Shieh said.
When the framing shows that there is a struggle between democracy and autocracy, it forces observers to make a values-based assessment, he said, adding that in this context, Taiwan’s like-minded partners would strive to defend democracy and back the nation.
Shieh also thanked members of the Germany-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group and the German-Taiwan Association.
The association, which earlier this year was renamed from the German-Chinese Association-Friends of Taiwan, is more than 60 years old, he said.
It is lovely to work with these people to fight for Taiwan, Shieh said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also thanked the German government for its support.
The new coalition government has outlined its plans to promote rules-based trade, security in the Asia-Pacific region, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.
The ministry looks forward to working with the German government to deepen mutually beneficial relations and to maintain the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, Ou said.
The bilateral relationship has steadily deepened, Ou said, adding that over the past four years, the two sides have signed 12 pacts.
Among them is an aviation service agreement that was signed on July 15 and took effect immediately, paving the way for direct flights between Taipei and Munich, she said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS