Any attempt or threat to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait by force is “unacceptable,” a visiting delegation of German Free Democratic Party (FDP) lawmakers from the Bundestag committees on defense, foreign affairs and human rights said yesterday in Taipei.
“The German Bundestag, the German government as well as European and all Western allies support the ‘one China’ policy, but we also believe that any change of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait can only be achieved by mutual agreement and any attempt to change the status quo by force, or any threat to do it by force, is unacceptable. That is the position of the international community, as laid out in the latest G7 statement, and it is our deep belief as well,” FDP deputy leader Johannes Vogel said when meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office.
“As the Free Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, we take matters of freedom especially to heart. Our visit here is also a gesture of support and solidarity against any threat of military aggression,” he said.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The 10-member delegation arrived on Monday for a four-day visit, the second group to visit from the Bundestag in three months. German Minister for Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who is also of the FDP, is scheduled to visit Taiwan later this year, which would be the first official visit by a German Cabinet member in 26 years.
China on Sunday announced that it would conduct military exercises around Taiwan from 6am on Sunday to 6am on Monday. Fifty-seven People’s Liberation Army aircraft and four navy vessels were detected around Taiwan as of 6am on Monday, the Ministry of National Defense said, adding that 28 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
German Bundestag Defense Committee Chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman said the world changed when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.
The invasion was a huge wake-up call not only for Europe and for Germany, but also for the whole world, she said.
Tsai said that exchanges between Taiwan and Germany in various fields have grown closer.
In October last year, a delegation of members of the German-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group and the committee on human rights and humanitarian aid visited Taiwan, highlighting cross-party support for Taiwan in the Bundestag, she said.
National Human Rights Commission Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) reciprocated by leading a delegation to Germany, the highest-level meeting of human rights officials from both sides, she added.
The Bundestag last year also passed a resolution supporting Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly as an observer. It was the first time that more than 100 Bundestag lawmakers signed a petition in favor of Taiwan, Tsai said.
When China conducted prolonged military exercises near the Taiwan Strait, Germany, which then held the G7 presidency, expressed the importance of maintaining peace across the Strait in a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers, she said.
“Starting next year, Taiwan’s mandatory military service will be extended to one year. This will bolster our defense capabilities, and demonstrate our determination to defend our homeland and safeguard democracy,” she added.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old