The Prague-based think tank European Values Center for Security Policy yesterday opened an office in Taipei, which signified Taiwan’s growing ties with Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
Wu made the remarks at the opening of the think tank’s office, adding that the opening demonstrated camaraderie among fellow democratic countries.
The office’s establishment also sends a clear signal to the world that Taiwan’s partnership with the Czech Republic is strengthening, he said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s partnership with democratic countries is a crucial part of its strategy, especially as authoritarian nations attempt to exert their influence on the international stage and threaten to destroy the core values of democracy, he said.
Interacting with the center will hopefully result in viable solutions to combat disinformation, cyberattacks and economic threats from other countries, he added.
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk, who also attended the opening, said that the institute could play a constructive role when interacting with the center.
Taiwan can provide its European partners valuable insight into China and the region, she said.
The AIT is happy to see that European partners are concerned with the security of Asia, she said, adding that the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region not only affects nations in Asia, but also the US and Europe.
The US is dedicated to upholding security in the Indo-Pacific regional, especially as China’s actions conflict with the values that the Taiwan, Europe and the US believe in, she said.
China’s human rights abuses, use of the economy as a coercive tool and cyberattacks are increasingly obvious, especially in terms of its relationship with Taiwan, she said.
The primary job of US President Joe Biden’s administration is to support US allies and partners, and jointly uphold and safeguard prosperity, security and the US’ core values, she said.
The US has offered long-term and solid support for Taiwan, which transcends political party differences in Washington, she added.
European Values Center for Security Policy director Jakub Janda said that the establishment of the Taipei office would allow the center to learn how Taiwan upholds democracy, despite direct pressure from China, adding that the office’s establishment was a sign of support for Taiwan.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
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