A visit by German Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger to Taiwan signals the normalization of relations between Taiwan and Germany, a German expert on cross-strait relations said.
Stark-Watzinger, who is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan today for a two-day visit, is the first German minister to visit the nation in 26 years.
“One could say that this is a return to normal after decades of self-censorship,” German Institute for International and Security Affairs senior fellow Gudrun Wacker told German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
Photo: AFP
As Germany and China increased interactions in economic and political fields after the 1990s, the European country abstained from engaging in exchanges with Taiwan that would aggravate Beijing, she said.
The paper called the visit “a journey of historical dimension,” while Die Zeit said it is “symbolic,” considering cross-strait tensions and China’s resentment toward visits by German parliamentarians since autumn last year.
“The aim of the trip is to strengthen and expand cooperation with Taiwan in science, research and education,” the German Ministry of Education and Research said, adding that “Germany and Taiwan share the same values and are committed to them: peace, freedom, human rights.”
The semiconductor industry would be the focus of the minister’s visit, as Taiwan is a global leader in the field and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is reportedly planning to set up its first European plant in Dresden, Germany, Der Tagesspiegel reported.
Stark-Watzinger is scheduled to meet with National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠), Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) and Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) to discuss cooperation in the high-tech field, along with green hydrogen, battery research and educational cooperation, it said.
“The visit of the minister of science makes a lot of sense, because it is exactly the type of cooperation that we are striving for with Taiwan,” European Council on Foreign Relations Asia program director Janka Oertel said.
The trip could also help create “awareness in Germany that Taiwan is a place of freedom, democracy and innovation whose existence is in danger,” she added.
As high-ranking visits always provoke aggressive reactions from China, “ensuring Taiwan’s security, integrating it internationally and protecting it from violent annexation by China” are essential, Oertel said.
“Taiwan is a valued partner in every sense of the word — a model democracy in Asia that also behaves responsibly internationally,” Wacker said.
Boosting exchanges with Taiwan does not contradict the German “one China” policy, Wacker said, adding that Germany should signal to Beijing that “violent action against Taiwan would have a high price.”
The Chinese embassy in Berlin on Friday last week voiced opposition to the planned visit, calling on Germany to “adhere to the ‘one China’ principle without making any compromises,” the Editorial Network Germany reported.
Mutual ministerial visits are “completely normal,” and are in line with the German “one China” policy, the German Federal Foreign Office said on the same day.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be