Taiwan’s democracy is an example for the “1 billion people on the other side of the Strait,” and it is important for democracies worldwide to unite and help Taiwan defend its values, the head of a visiting Swedish parliamentary delegation said yesterday.
In an online meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is undergoing home isolation, Boriana Aberg, chairperson of the Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Association, said she was proud to see Taiwan ranked No. 8 on a global democracy list earlier this year.
She was referring to the 2021 Democracy Index rankings released by the Economist Intelligence Unit in February, which listed Taiwan as the No. 1 “full democracy” in Asia, and the eighth worldwide.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA
While Taiwan’s democracy serves as “an example for the 1 billion people on the other side of the Strait,” it is also a major threat to the communist regime in China, which forbids its people from enjoying any form of freedom, Aberg said.
That is why Beijing has over the years been threatening Taipei with unification, by force if necessary, she said, adding that the world is currently witnessing the consequences of “a dictator’s ambition for unification” in the war in Ukraine.
In light of the atrocities committed by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, it is the duty of the world’s democracies to “stand with Taiwan, and defend its freedom and its democratic values by any means,” Aberg said.
In the international arena, her delegation supports Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO, but it is “a shame” that Taiwan has been barred from attending the annual World Health Assembly for years, she said.
“We are prepared to do everything in our power to defend the existence and sovereignty of Taiwan,” said Aberg, who arrived in Taipei on Sunday with a delegation for a five-day visit.
Charlie Weimers, coleader of the delegation, said that the EU and Taiwan share democratic values and threats of an authoritarian takeover.
“We have shared interests to protect the rule-based world order, in order for small democracies like Sweden and Taiwan to continue to live and thrive,” said Weimers, who is a member of the European Parliament.
He said that during a meeting on Monday with Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳), the Swedish delegation learned more about Taiwan’s experience and expertise in combating Chinese disinformation.
The delegation also met with Swedish business representatives in Taipei on Monday, Weimers said, adding that he has always been supportive of a EU-Taiwan trade agreement.
“I will continue to advocate my own personal conviction, which is that the EU-Taiwan friendship should have no end limit, no forbidden areas and no upper bounds,” he said.
Tsai thanked the delegation for their long-awaited visit to Taiwan, which she said had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan and Sweden are like-minded partners that share universal values of freedom and democracy, the president said.
In the face of the expansion of authoritarianism, democratic partners around the world must unite to defend their way of life and to build a resilient democratic alliance, she said.
Tsai also urged the creation of a Taiwan-Sweden air services agreement that would allow direct flights between the two nations, and closer private-sector cooperation and trade exchanges.
Tsai’s meeting with the delegation was scheduled to be held at the Presidential Office, but it was changed to an online discussion after she came into contact with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19, and she subsequently went into home isolation, her spokesperson said.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) later received the Swedish visitors at the Presidential Office.
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