Taiwan welcomes first official European Parliament delegation
New Delhi: Taiwan on Wednesday welcomed the first European Parliament delegation to visit the island, calling the trip significant and its latest move towards stronger ties with Europe amid heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing.
The visit comes during high tensions between Taiwan and China, which claims the self-ruled island and has vowed to take it one day, by force if needed. Beijing has intensified efforts in recent years to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, bristling at any attempts to treat the island as an independent state.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and has not ruled out taking by force, does not have formal diplomatic relations with any European countries apart from Vatican City. But it is keen to deepen ties with European Union democracies.
The seven-member group led by French MEP Raphael Glucksmann will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other top officials during the three-day trip, said the island’s foreign ministry.
“We look forward to fruitful discussions on the defense of democracy, freedom, rule of law, and respect for human rights with our like-minded European partners,” it added in a statement.
The three-day visit was organized by a European Parliament committee on foreign interference such as disinformation in democratic processes.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office said in a statement the government will share experiences in dealing with challenges including “foreign infiltration” with the delegation.
President Tsai Ing-wen has warned of increasing Chinese efforts to gain influence in the democratic island and has asked security agencies to counter the infiltration efforts.
The EU lawmakers’ visit comes after Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu made a rare trip to Europe last month that angered Beijing, which warned the host countries against undermining their bilateral relations with China.
The European Parliament last month adopted a non-binding resolution to deepen ties with Taiwan, including looking into a bilateral investment agreement. The delegation will meet Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang later on Wednesday before a meeting with Tsai on Thursday.
(_Vinayak)
