Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is vital for the growth of the global economy, the leader of a delegation of Members of the European Parliament said yesterday, while calling Taiwan a trusted partner for enhanced cooperation with European countries in areas such as semiconductors.
With the many new friends Taipei has made in Europe, thanks to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) efforts in the past few years, Taiwan would receive mutual support and assistance as a member of “Team Democracy,” delegation leader and German member of the European Parliament Reinhard Butikofer told a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.
Asked if Europe should abandon its long-held reluctance to provide Taiwan with arms amid escalating cross-strait tensions, Butikofer, chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the People’s Republic of China, likened European democracies to “turtles.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“They don’t move very fast. They don’t change the direction suddenly, but once they get moving, they’re not easily stopped,” he said.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “Europe has changed. My own country has changed” its policies on arms exports, he added.
However, Butikofer also said that he is not sure what Taiwan needs defensively, although he has heard a lot of discussions of asymmetrical warfare during his Taiwan visit, and is not sure if the fighters and tanks Germany produces would be “exactly what Taiwan needs” for its defense.
Other delegation members include European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala, German Bundestag members Agnieszka Brugger and Boris Mijatovic, as well as German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group deputy chair Till Steffen, all of whom are members of green parties in their nations.
On Tuesday, during a visit to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters, Butikofer said the world has underestimated the threat posed by China and Russia.
If Russia’s effect on the world is like a typhoon, then China’s would be like climate change, he said.
Supporting Taiwan’s democracy, and preserving regional peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are the values of the EU, and the delegation looks forward to collaborating with Taiwan in many fields, not just in semiconductors and technology, he said, calling Taiwan a trusted friend and trading partner of Europe.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), speaking at a dinner for the delegation on Tuesday night, thanked the European Parliament and the German Bundestag for showing support for Taiwan and its participation in international organizations amid rising tensions in the Strait in the past few years.
Wu called for more collaboration with Germany and European countries to promote further interactions and enhance relations.
Vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), also speaking at the reception, said that the delegation’s visit would help EU lawmakers better understand that Taiwan has similar values to European nations, particularly in regards to democracy, freedom, the rule of law and human rights.
That has been the basis for the European Parliament and many countries supporting Taiwan, Hsiao said.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS