Taiwan’s lack of recognition as a country unites nations that support freedom and could serve as an inspiration to democracies around the world, Lithuanian Member of Parliament Zygimantas Pavilionis said on Wednesday.
Pavilionis, who chairs the Lithuanian Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the comments during a virtual talk held by think tank the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Panelists at the event, titled “The US, Asia, and Europe: Toward a Common Democratic Agenda,” discussed how democracies in the three regions could work together to strengthen their commitment to democracy, and defend democratic norms and values around the world.
Pavilionis said that it was difficult to find another issue that united Europeans, Americans and people of “all other freedom-loving nations all around the world.”
“Taiwan unites us all,” he added.
“We need this unity so desperately, because after 15 years of democracy decline, we need some inspirations and examples of success stories,” Pavilionis said, adding that Taiwan could inspire democracies.
This inspiration can remind countries that human rights and democracy matter, he said.
Asked about China’s threats of economic retaliation against Lithuania because of warming ties with Taiwan, Pavilionis said that China does not understand the economy of Lithuania, nor the psyche of its people.
“I think they are doing exactly what we want, because it was my long-term dream to reorient us from trading with autocratic countries, like Russia and China, and go full speed into expanding relations with countries like Taiwan, Japan, Australia and South Korea,” Pavilionis said.
While dependency on autocratic countries limits one’s freedom of speech and freedom of choice, bolstering relations with democracies empowers them, Pavilionis said.
Also speaking to the forum, Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that of the many ways that China has pressured Taiwan, economic coercion is the most complex and the hardest to manage.
Listing three ways to counter economic pressure, Hsiao said that, first, democratic governments can establish mechanisms that enable them to support each other’s economies, such as trade deals or more resilient supply chains.
She said that democratic countries can also use emerging technologies to bolster human progress and basic liberties, while cooperating on export controls and other initiatives to prevent autocratic nations for misusing the technology.
A third way is to have democratic societies use transparency on products’ origins to support countries that are being pressured by autocratic nations, Hsiao said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS