The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday expressed appreciation to the European People’s Party (EPP) for condemning China’s increasing threats against Taiwan and supporting Taiwan as a “valuable partner” in the region.
The ministry’s statement came after the EPP, the largest of the European Parliament’s eight political groups, issued a position paper on EU-China relations, titled “EPP Position Paper: EU-China Relations in a COVID-19 World and Beyond.”
In the paper issued on Monday, the EPP condemned China for heightening its military threats against Taiwan, offered its support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and urged the EU to strengthen its cooperation with Taiwan, the ministry said.
“As China has increased the frequency of its infringements on Taiwan’s airspace and claims that there is no median line in the Taiwan Strait, the EPP group, which accounts for nearly 200 seats in the European Parliament, showed support to Taiwan with concrete action,” it said.
The Ministry of National Defense, which last month added a section to its Web site to publish information on the latest movements of the Chinese military near Taiwan, said that Chinese planes have approached Taiwan’s airspace eight times since Sept. 16.
The foreign ministry said that it is in the region’s best interests that the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait be maintained, as Beijing’s attempts to alter the “status quo” in the Strait have raised concerns in the international community.
“Taiwan’s government will continue to work with like-minded countries to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the strait and in the region,” the foreign ministry said, citing the EPP’s position paper as saying that the party “strongly supports” enabling Taiwan to practically and meaningfully participate in international forums, such as the WHO.
The paper also condemned threats against Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, who visited Taiwan at the end of August and last month, as well as “China’s increasing threats of potential military intervention on the island.”
On other issues related to Asia, the EPP criticized Beijing for suppressing information on the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in central China, and expressed concern on the state of human rights and freedom in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as Beijing’s military expansion in the South China Sea.
“We therefore fully support efforts to strengthen EU cooperation with valued partners in the Asia-Pacific, in particular Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan,” the paper said.
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
‘OFFSHORE OPERATIONS’: Also in Dallas, Texas, the Ministry of Economic Affairs inaugurated its third Taiwan Trade and Investment Center to foster closer cooperation The 2025 Taiwan Expo USA opened on Thursday in Dallas, Texas, featuring 150 Taiwanese companies showcasing their latest technologies in the fields of drones, smart manufacturing and healthcare. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event’s organizer, said the exhibitors this year include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer; AUO; PC brand Asustek Computer; and drone maker Thunder Tiger. In his opening speech, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said he expected Texas to become a world-class center for innovation and manufacturing as US technology companies from Silicon Valley and Taiwanese manufacturers form an industrial cluster
A 20-year-old man yesterday evening was electrocuted and fell to his death after he climbed a seven-story-high electricity tower to photograph the sunset, causing a wildfire on Datong Mountain (大同山) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), the Taoyuan Police Department said today. The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was accompanied on an evening walk by a 20-year-old woman surnamed Shang (尚) who remained on the ground and witnessed the incident, capturing a final photograph of her friend sitting atop the tower before his death, an initial investigation showed. Shang then sought higher ground to call for help, police said. The New Taipei
RSS