Taipei (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU Parliament delegation expressed that China’s detestation toward Taiwan is likely to reverse, further estranging the Taiwanese people.
MEPs stated that Taiwan acts as a “daily provocation” to China by showing that a Chinese-speaking community can be organized democratically and more successfully than in the communist continent. Citing a recent European Parliament resolution that denied China’s “misinterpretation” of United Nations Resolution 2758, they showed that it represents “a show of unity and a widespread consensus that we oppose any unilateral misinterpretation of political circumstances.”
How does the EU support Taiwan?
MEP Bernard Guetta member of the delegation stated. “The Beijing authorities should understand that, because of their hostility toward Taiwan, you are increasingly becoming a nation in the making–not only a country but a nation.”
In an interview in Taipei, MEP Michael Gahler likened China’s endeavours to draw Taiwan into its sphere of persuasion to the situation in Ukraine. Gahler stated that following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, many Ukrainians voiced a strong sense of national identity, declaring, “I am Ukrainian. I do not want to be regarded as Russian.” He emphasized, “Yes, I speak Russian, but I do not want to be treated in such a way. And that is not the future I envision.”
According to the report, Gahler claimed that Russia’s justification for its aggression–claiming discrimination against Russian speakers in Ukraine–has had the “opposite effect” of what it planned. He suggested that a comparable outcome could result from China’s policy toward Taiwan. “The more pressure there is, the more you say, ‘No, we belong together, we stand together, and we do not want to be part of something that is so unfriendly to us,'” he remarked.
What economic partnerships are Taiwan and the EU pursuing?
Concerning other issues, MEPs and Taiwan authorities examined ways to enhance economic partnership between the European Union and Taiwan. They stated that the two sides especially discussed how to reach economic contracts in certain sectors. Gahler stressed that it is the European Parliament’s responsibility to determine mutually beneficial areas for enhanced collaboration, such as signing memorandums of understanding.
He stressed that Taiwan is a “world champion” in semiconductors and that the European Parliament is keen to expand cooperation into artificial intelligence, a rapidly growing field where the EU needs to “catch up” through coalitions with Taiwan.
