The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the Dutch House of Representatives for passing motions in support of maintaining the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait and closer Taiwan-Lithuania ties.
The Dutch house set a record when it overwhelmingly passed two motions friendly to Taiwan in one day, the ministry said in a news release.
The move again demonstrates the house’s strong support for Taiwan, after it on Tuesday last week passed a motion backing Taiwan’s bid to participate in the International Criminal Police Organization, it said.
Photo: Reuters
Of the two motions passed on Tuesday, one urged the Dutch government to object to any unilateral changes of the cross-strait “status quo” by China, it said.
It was initiated by Dutch lawmaker Raymond de Roon, chairman of the house’s Committee on Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, and was passed by a vote of 120 to 30, the ministry said.
In the proposal, De Roon raised concerns about China’s increasing military activities in the Taiwan Strait and urged other European countries to support Taiwan, the ministry said.
The other motion urged the Dutch government to push the EU to support Lithuania, which is facing retaliation from China over its decision to host the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius and its plans to open a representative office in Taiwan, the ministry said.
The motion was proposed by Dutch lawmakers Ruben Brekelmans and Agnes Mulder, and passed by a vote of 117 to 33, it said.
According to the house’s Web site, De Roon, Brekelmans and Mulder belong to the Party for Freedom, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, and the Christian Democratic Appeal party respectively.
Taiwan and the Netherlands are good partners that share the values of democracy, rule of law, freedom and human rights, the ministry said.
Bilateral relations have been close and friendly, and the two sides would continue to bolster cooperation in trade, environmental protection, disease prevention, technology, energy and innovation, among other areas, it added.
Taiwan and the Netherlands would also join efforts to tackle challenges posed by transnational crime, aviation safety and climate change, the ministry said, pledging to make more contributions to global peace, stability and prosperity.
Over the past few years, the Netherlands has become Taiwan’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, as well as Taiwan’s biggest investment destination and second-largest trading partner in Europe, the ministry said in a news release in July last year.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS