There is “no room for Chinese aggression in democratic Taiwan,” European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer said upon her arrival in Taiwan yesterday, adding that it is time for Europe to stand with Taiwan, as both are members of a “family of democracies.”
Upon her arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for a three-day trip, Beer said she was honored to be visiting Taiwan in her official capacity as one of the three European Parliament vice presidents.
“Taiwan’s bloom is Europe’s bloom,” she said, adding that the EU would not turn a blind eye to the Chinese threat toward Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Beer, who is from Germany and a European Parliament member since 2019, said Europe was “late” for Hong Kong, referring to the territory that had enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, but has seen its political and civil liberties curtailed by Beijing following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
“We won’t be late for Taiwan,” she added.
Meanwhile, as Europe witnesses the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beer said that “we do not want to witness war in Asia.”
“Now is the moment to stand firm on the side of Taiwan. We are a family of democracies,” she said.
Beer is making her first trip to Taiwan, during which she is to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The ministry hailed Beer as an important friend of Taiwan, touting her efforts to boost EU-Taiwan ties, and support Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Assembly and other global bodies.
Beer is the first European Parliament vice president to visit Taiwan in an official capacity. Previously vice presidents have visited Taiwan as European Parliament members.
Beer also plans to explore the feasibility of forging two-way cooperation on technology supply chains on her visit which concludes tomorrow, the ministry said.
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than
RSS