The international political influence of the EU is second only to that of the US. With the 10 Central and Eastern European states that joined the EU on May 1, the organization now includes 25 member nations and represents 450 million people. This has greatly increased the EU's international influence. The EU is Taiwan's third largest trading partner, and the trade relationship was further strengthened with the establishment of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan on March 10 last year.
In response to the political and economic benefits resulting from the EU's eastward expansion, Taiwan should make good use of the existing trade cooperation mechanism to further develop our relationship with the EU in general and the new member states in particular.
The government has already formulated a policy to deepen and widen the bilateral Taiwan-EU relationship. Given the current international political environment, Taiwan has to direct further efforts towards creating a breakthrough in unofficial exchanges with the EU and to establish normal diplomatic relations with each member state. There is still a lot of room for Taiwan and the EU to further develop mutual cooperation, in particular in the field of the protection of human rights.
Most EU countries are old democracies that pay great attention to the implementation of universal values such as democracy, freedom and the protection of human rights. This coincides with President Chen Shui-bian's (
The European Commission is a supra-national organization, and the EU's main executive institution. The European Commission has directorates-general on international relations, economic and financial affairs, agriculture, fisheries, energy and transport, employment and social affairs, research, education and culture, and justice and home affairs. These institutions have all achieved quite important political results. Taiwan could invite officials from these specialized areas to exchange development experiences, strengthen knowledge about Taiwan among specialized EU officials and advance mechanisms and opportunities for mutual functional cooperation.
Taiwan stresses social mechanisms for the protection of human rights, a liberal democratic system and a diversified, free economic system. These ideals coincide with the basic values of the EU's member states. Taiwan and the EU can continue to expand channels for cooperation based on pragmatism and mutual benefits in areas such as trade exchanges, research and development, protection of human rights, environmental protection and even culture and education, in order to increase the wealth for the peoples on both sides and to promote a prosperous and developing bilateral relationship.
Chen Lung-chu is the chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation. Translated by Perry Svensson
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS