A delegation from the German Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a four-day visit to discuss human rights issues with local officials and academics.
The delegation, led by German lawmaker Peter Heidt of the Free Democratic Party, was welcomed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) and German Institute Taipei Director-General Jorg Polster at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The delegation also includes German lawmakers Heike Engelhardt and Derya Turk-Nachbaur of the Social Democratic Party, Michael Brand and Carsten Brodesser of the Christian Democratic Union, and Boris Mijatovic from the Greens.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The visit is the second by German lawmakers this month, following a seven-member delegation to Taipei from Oct. 2 to 6 headed by German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman Klaus-Peter Willsch.
The human rights delegation is scheduled to meet President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and National Human Rights Commission Chairperson Chen Chu (陳菊), the ministry said.
The delegation is to visit the National Human Rights Museum and discuss cooperation with local non-governmental organizations and think tanks, it added.
The trip is meant to learn firsthand about the “tense security situation” in Taiwan and to express the delegation’s stance that it would not accept “a larger neighbor attacking its smaller neighbor in violation of international law,” Heidt said in Berlin last week.
Germany must overcome its economic reliance on China, he added.
Heidt said that Taiwan is known for its economic prosperity and its chip production.
“No iPhone in the world would work without Taiwan’s [semiconductor] industry,” Heidt said. “In other words, Taiwan’s independence is also very important to us for economic reasons.”
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