Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has discussed the threats posed by China and other issues with members of the European and Belgian parliaments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The statement came after the ministry refused to comment on earlier media reports that Wu, who is on a visit to Europe, would hold talks with officials at EU institutions in Brussels.
The ministry yesterday released photographs of Wu’s meeting with lawmakers, without giving a date or location of the meeting.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
The meeting was attended by members of the European Parliament from nine states, including Charlie Weimers of Sweden — the rapporteur of an “EU-Taiwan Relations and Cooperation” report passed last week — and the two chairmen of the Taiwan Friendship Group in the Belgian legislature, the ministry said.
Wu thanked EU lawmakers for passing the report with overwhelming support — 580 votes in favor, 26 votes against and 66 abstentions, it said.
The report is the first document passed by the European Parliament on Taiwan-EU relations and a milestone for bilateral ties, it added.
The Belgian Senate in March passed a resolution in support of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations that also called for diplomatic measures to ease tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, the ministry said.
During the meeting, Wu discussed the threats posed by China, security in the Taiwan Strait, the situation in Hong Kong, Taiwan’s ambitions to participate in the UN system and plans to promote interactions between young people from Taiwan and Europe, it said.
Wu asked the lawmakers to urge the EU to start negotiations with Taiwan about an investment agreement, which would require an impact assessment, scope definition, public consultations and other preparations, it said.
On Friday, Wu adressed a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China in Rome via videoconference, telling the group that the EU is the biggest investor in Taiwan, while Taiwan invests relatively little in Europe.
Asked about what the EU could do to address the situation, Wu said: “We think we need to make a balance.”
The two sides would need a mechanism to encourage Taiwanese businesses to regard Europe as a potential market, he said, adding that a bilateral investment agreement would promote that.
There had been discussions on such an agreement in 2015, but the talks were postponed, as many European countries said they wanted to strike a deal with China first, Wu said.
“Taiwan was being held hostage,” as many European countries would not talk with Taiwan about investment before signing a deal with China, Wu said.
However, now that the discussions on the draft EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment are on hold, it is a good time for the bloc to think more seriously about a deal with Taiwan, he said.
Separately, the ministry on Friday denied a report by China’s English-language Global Times that Wu’s “checkbook visit could divide Europe’s China policy.”
Wu’s delegation to Europe, as well as separate delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), aim to promote mutually beneficial ties based on shared values in democracy and freedom, it said.
The Global Times’ smear campaign against the delegations is motivated by malign purposes, the ministry said, adding that the newspaper is a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, which has no respect for democracy and the rule of the law.
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS