TAIPEI (dpa-AFX) – In view of the threats from China, members of a Bundestag delegation believe that Germany and Taiwan should further intensify their cooperation. One of the lessons of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “that democracies should support each other,” said Till Steffen, a Green politician and a member of the parliamentary Friends of Taiwan delegation. Their five-day visit ended on Thursday.
Germany and Taiwan share common values, emphasized Klaus-Peter Willsch (CDU), chairman of the Circle of Friends, to journalists in Taipei. “This country is governed by the rule of law, a haven of freedom in Asia.” The Bundestag has repeatedly made it clear that military threats from large countries against their neighbors are rejected. “That’s not the way we understand international politics,” Willsch said about the Chinese saber-rattling against the democratic island republic.
The first visit since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 demonstrates “the return to normality,” said Willsch. The exchange of parliaments will continue after the interruption caused by Covid-19. After the planned visit by the Human Rights Committee, a visit by young members of the Bundestag to Taiwan is also planned for next year. SPD MP Katrin Budde was surprised by Beijing’s protest against the Friends’ visit: “We were surprised that other countries told us where we should go.” The Bundestag decides on this itself.
The deputies were received in Taipei by high-ranking President Tsai Ing-wen, the head of parliament and the foreign minister, among others. The visit angers the government in Beijing, which sees Taiwan only as part of the People’s Republic and rejects such official contacts from other countries to Taipei. Tensions had recently intensified. In response to the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early August, China launched large-scale maneuvers./lw/DP/ngu