A delegation of German Free Democratic Party (FDP) lawmakers led by German Bundestag Committee on Defense Chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and party deputy chair Johannes Vogel arrived in Taiwan yesterday.
The visit is a gesture of German “solidarity” with Taiwan, they said.
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) hosted a banquet to welcome the delegation.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Photojournalist Society
“As a model of democracy against authoritarianism, Taiwan draws admiration from the world” because of its mature and stable democratic system,” Vogel said.
The FDP is a junior partner in Germany’s coalition government.
Vogel said that Taiwan’s peaceful and smooth transition to democracy was a “quite rare” event worthy of admiration.
The situation between Taiwan and China is complicated, and the FDP and the EU must support the “one China” policy, but the party is nonetheless supportive of Taiwan, he said.
Germany would like to send China a message that military intimidation is not acceptable, he said, adding that the trip is to “demonstrate Germany’s massive support for Taiwan.”
You said he was touched when the FDP in 2021 deleted mention of the “one China” policy from its election platform in an effort to support Taiwan.
Germany and the EU should engage with Taiwan more, he said.
You said he hopes that allies support Taiwan’s resistance against aggression and bullying, safeguard global peace and stability, and work to encourage China’s democratization.
German Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, plans to visit Taipei in the spring, Agence France-Presse reported.
It would be the first visit by a member of the German Cabinet in 26 years.
The delegation is to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The members are scheduled to visit the Hsinchu Science Park and the National Human Rights Museum before departing on Thursday.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday criticized the visit.
“The root of the Taiwan problem is precisely that of the law of the jungle — hegemonism, colonialism, militarism and nationalism. China suffered deeply from these behaviors throughout history,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told a news conference.
“Germany once experienced a profound and painful historical lesson in this regard,” he added.
Separately, a parliamentary delegation from Lithuania arrived in Taiwan yesterday morning.
Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan vice chair Dovile Sakaliene on Sunday said on Facebook that Lithuania and Taiwan would discuss cybersecurity and geopolitical security challenges.
The invasion of Ukraine showed that the threats Lithuania and Taiwan face are real, and the two countries should “learn, unite, and act now,” she said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS