A member of the European Parliament (MEP) on Thursday called for international cooperation to protect democratic institutions during a visit by former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to the parliament complex in Brussels.
“It is the sovereign right of every European country to develop relations with Taiwan,” Slovakian MEP Miriam Lexmann told a reception for Tsai attended by about 50 members of the European Parliament.
China is “the biggest threat to the global peace and security,” Lexmann said, calling for cooperation among partners in the increasingly complex global geopolitical landscape to protect democratic institutions and boost economic development.
Photo: CNA
She later told the Central News Agency that the EU could not let Beijing “abuse the one China policy” and thus hamper the bloc from developing its own cooperation with Taiwan.
Lexmann is a member of the Slovakian Christian Democratic Movement and affiliated with the European People’s Party, the largest party in the European Parliament.
She was one of the MEPs sanctioned by the Chinese government in 2021 in a tit-for-tat response to the EU’s restrictive measures against four Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Uighurs.
German MEP Engin Eroglu, who heads the European Parliament’s China Delegation, said on social media after the reception that Taiwan is “a true partner to the EU” and that the EU “must do everything in its power” to prevent a military conflict in the region.
“The EU will continue to support Taiwan and further strengthen our friendship-based partnership,” Eroglu said, adding that by working together, the two sides can “face the challenges ahead and promote shared values of democracy and freedom.”
During her address, Tsai said that compromising sovereignty and yielding to authoritarian aggression will not bring about peace.
“Peace cannot be achieved by yielding to authoritarian aggression or by compromising our sovereignty and democratic way of life,” she said. “To uphold peace, one needs to be strong and determined.”
Tsai urged the global democratic community to continue to stand together in opposing and deterring Beijing’s “maritime and airspace incursions,” which she said were aimed at altering the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and jeopardizing regional stability.
At the same time, Taiwan is “eager” to deepen its connections with the world, and stands ready to share its best practices in areas such as economic and technological development, public health and the fight against disinformation, she said.
Taiwan is also “a crucial and trusted partner” in efforts to improve global supply chains and economic security, she added.
“I hope the European Parliament and the national parliaments of the EU member states will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations,” Tsai said.
Tsai arrived in Brussels on Thursday, the last stop of her week-long European tour.
It was the first visit to the European Parliament branch in the Belgian capital by a former Taiwanese president.
The European tour, which has also included stops in the Czech Republic and France, is Tsai’s first overseas trip after leaving office in May.
After meeting with Tsai earlier this week, Czech Republic Senator Pavel Fischer called on his government to take a tougher stance on China.
Fischer wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that he, his colleagues and Tsai discussed bilateral cooperation in trade and economics and education between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
“Despite Taiwan being on the other side of the globe, we must care about what happens in its vicinity. Security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific directly influence the Euro-Atlantic area and vice versa. Our security and prosperity are closely linked,” Fischer added.
The senator urged his government to take a tougher stance against China at the UN over its “unacceptable behavior” targeting Taiwan, including, for instance, summoning China’s ambassador to express concern.
The Czech government has promised to review relations with China, but provided no further updates on the efforts, saying only that the review process is ongoing, he said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS