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.
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