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.
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
IMPORTS: Fifty-four million imported eggs with a value of more than NT$200 million had to be destroyed, mostly because they expired in storage facilities Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) last night announced that he would resign from his post. Local media on Sunday reported that Chen had resigned due to controversy over the ministry’s egg import program. Later that same evening, the Executive Yuan said that Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) had asked the minister to stay on to resolve the issue. Chen Chi-chung last night made public his decision to resign on Facebook, saying that this time he would not be dissuaded. Chen Chi-chung earlier yesterday apologized for the furor surrounding the egg import program, but added that misinformation had made the problems worse. The government was
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
RSS