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.
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