The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed gratitude for two resolutions passed by the European Parliament on Wednesday that back deepening ties with Taiwan and voice concern about heightened tension across the Taiwan Strait.
The parliament on Wednesday adopted an annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and an annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP).
The CFSP report said that Taiwan is an important democratic ally of the EU in the Indo-Pacific region, urging the EU and its member states to continue to work closely with Taiwan in deepening economic, trade and investment ties.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The parliament also criticized provocative military actions taken by China against Taiwan.
China has attempted to distort UN Resolution 2758 to impede Taiwan’s international participation, the CFSP report said, adding that China’s claim to Taiwan has no grounds in international law.
Only the democratically elected government in Taiwan can represent Taiwanese, the CFSP report said, urging the EU and its member states to convey a clear message stating that any forceful attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait would not be accepted.
The CSDP report condemned China’s increasing online attacks, cognitive warfare, intrusions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and damage to Taiwan’s undersea cables.
The EU affirms its steadfast commitment to maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, the CSDP report said, praising Taiwan’s self-restraint while calling on China to stop its aggressive behavior.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) thanked the European Parliament for its support.
Taiwan would continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with the parliament to boost democratic resilience and construct a mutually beneficial alliance network based on common values, Lin said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend