The Russia-Ukraine war is a warning to democracies that they should not have unrealistic expectations about authoritarian nations, a visiting German parliament member said in Taipei on Tuesday.
German Bundestag’s Parliamentary Oversight Panel deputy head and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Roderich Kiesewetter on Tuesday met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), where they discussed issues such as countering the global expansion of authoritarian rule, ties between Taiwan and Europe, and technical collaboration between Germany and Taiwan on semiconductors.
Kiesewetter stressed the importance of building coalitions and cooperation among democratic partners and emphasized mutual trust as being the key to such cooperation.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Lin expressed his gratitude to Kiesewetter for his support for Taiwan, saying that Germany and other like-minded nations should work together to address the major challenges faced by the world.
While China has engaged in hybrid warfare in the Indo-Pacific region as well as in the rest of the world, the international community must understand that cross-strait peace and stability are the key to regional security and the stability of the global supply chain, he said.
Taiwan and Germany have close academic and business collaborations, and these are set to strengthen as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is to invest in new plants in Dresden, Lin said.
Kiesewetter endorsed the significance of Taiwan’s investment in Germany’s semiconductor industry in facilitating the bilateral exchange of talent and technology, as well as enhancing the global democratic supply chain.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國) in a luncheon with Kiesewetter on Monday thanked the German Bundestag for approving a friendly resolution on the cross-strait issue, which called on the German government to highlight the importance of cross-strait peace and stability.
Chen said he expects Kiesewetter to exert his influence and continue to build up the community of Taiwan supporters in Germany and strengthen bilateral ties.
Kiesewetter also appealed to democratic partners to collectively deter China from invading Taiwan by force, saying that bilateral official visits would be welcomed to deepen cooperation between Taiwan and Germany in different fields.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday in a news release said it expects Taiwan and Germany to deepen their bilateral relationship based on existing collaboration and collectively defend peace in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh