Members of the Formosa Club, a group of Taiwan-friendly lawmakers in Europe, on Thursday expressed concern over China’s attempts to disrupt supply chain links to European firms, and reiterated support for Lithuania, which has been targeted by Beijing.
In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said: “Since Taiwan opened its representative office in Vilnius on November 18, China has resorted to every possible means to coerce Lithuania in an increasingly unscrupulous and brazen fashion.”
“This campaign has included everything from removing Lithuania from China’s customs clearance list to unilaterally renaming the Lithuanian Embassy in China and recalling all ID cards of its personnel,” said the letter, which the group shared on Twitter.
Photo: RITCHIE B. TONGO, EPA-EFE
“While China’s threats are increasingly becoming a reality, it is also becoming crystal clear that the target of China’s coercive action is not simply Lithuania, but more broadly, the fundamental integrity of European supply chains,” it said.
A dozen German companies, including vehicle parts giant Continental AG, have faced significant pressure to stop using components made in the Baltic country, with Beijing threatening to shut them out of the Chinese market, the letter said.
“As the EU is making all the effort to achieve strategic autonomy, China’s economic sanction against Lithuania is a litmus test to [the] EU’s determination and solidarity,” the letter said, calling on the EU to take action to resist such coercion.
“The last thing that we would like to see is the EU and member states being blamed for inaction in the face of this coercion,” it said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the letter was signed by members of the European Parliament and 24 national parliaments, including European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group chairman Michael Gahler, Germany-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Klaus-Peter Wilsch and Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) chairman Matas Maldeikis.
The ministry thanked the lawmakers for their support.
Their move shows that there is a consensus among European countries to resist China’s increasingly arbitrary coercions against democratic countries, the ministry said in a news release.
Taiwan, as a like-minded and friendly partner of Lithuania, would continue to deepen its bilateral trade relations, it said, calling on like-minded countries to join efforts to defend a rules-based international trade order.
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