The European Parliament has backed deepening ties with Taiwan and voiced concern about heightened tension across the Taiwan Strait in reports on two major security policies, which include a passage denying that Taiwan is subordinate to China.
The parliament adopted the annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy in a vote of 338 in favor, 86 against and 122 abstentions during a plenary session from Monday to yesterday.
It also passed the annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defense Policy in a vote of 350 in favor, 91 against and 96 abstentions.
Photo: AP
“Neither Taiwan nor China is subordinate to the other” and “only Taiwan’s democratically elected government can represent the Taiwanese people on the international stage,” the foreign and security policy report said.
It was the first time the annual report has included the text, showing that the parliament “highly affirmed Taiwan’s freedom and democracy,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
The parliament “strongly condemns” Beijing’s continued military aggressions against Taiwan and “reiterates its firm rejection” of any unilateral change to the cross-strait “status quo,” the report said.
It also denounced China’s refusal to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, adding that its territorial claims over the nation “have no basis in international law.”
The parliament called on the European Commission and EU member states to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations and “engage in closer cooperation with Taiwan,” such as through visiting and negotiating bilateral investment agreements, the report said.
It emphasized the need for “preventive diplomacy” regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait to help avoid escalation and to “sustain democracy in Taiwan.”
The report on security and defense policy called for “greater coordinated maritime presence and capacity building” in the South China Sea due to Beijing’s provocations, which have endangered the stability and security of the region and beyond.
To deter such aggression, EU member states should conduct frequent “freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and deepen security dialogues with Taiwan,” it said.
The parliament encouraged cooperation with Taiwan, which has “expertise and technological edge” that can be leveraged against Chinese cyberthreats.
Separately, the Florida Senate on Wednesday adopted a bill affirming ties with the nation and supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
The Senate passed a resolution “expressing appreciation for the sister-state relationship with and bilateral economic and cultural ties between the State of Florida and Taiwan.”
The resolution commended the nation on completing the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13, which demonstrated the “Taiwanese people’s unwavering commitment to sustaining democracy in the shadow of a mighty adversary,” and offered congratulations to the winning candidates.
As next month marks the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, it affirmed US-Taiwan ties in economy, tourism and space missions.
It also voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to bolster the “already significant trade relationship” between Taiwan and the US.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘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
RSS