July 20, 2022
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European Parliament Vice-President Nicola Beer will visit Taiwan for three days from Tuesday (July 19). Taiwan said it was the first official visit to Taiwan by a high-ranking European Parliament. On the same day, there was also news that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan.
Bill: ‘Won’t be late for Taiwan’
“It is time to stand firmly on Taiwan’s side,” Beale said on Tuesday when he arrived at Taiwan’s Taoyuan airport, calling Europe and Taiwan part of “the big family of democracies,” according to Agence France-Presse.
“Taiwan’s prosperity is also Europe’s prosperity. We will not turn a blind eye to China’s threat to Taiwan. For Hong Kong, Europe is late, we will not be late for Taiwan,” she said, referring to China’s recent efforts to dismantle Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement .
“Democratic Taiwan has no room for Chinese aggression. Now, we are witnessing wars in Europe, and we don’t want to witness wars in Asia,” she said.
Beale met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, Beale stressed the importance of Taiwan on a global scale and reiterated that Taiwan has the right to determine its own future in the face of military threats of Chinese annexation, saying Beijing should not undermine the island’s prosperity.
“Only Taiwanese can decide Taiwan’s future,” she said, adding that China should actively and constructively maintain and protect the current status quo on the basis of mutual respect and dialogue.
China says Taiwan is part of China and seeks reunification with Taiwan. Taiwan says its 23 million people will determine its future.
The Russian attack on Ukraine has deepened concerns within Taiwan and among key Western allies that Beijing, under Chinese President Xi Jinping, may want to force the island to unify.
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Beale’s visit is likely to upset China, which opposes any official dealings between Taiwan and foreign politicians.
But Beale said “political imperatives” brought her to Taiwan in an “official capacity”.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that during his visit to Taiwan, Bill will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Executive President Su Zhenchang, Vice President of the Legislative Yuan Tsai Qichang, etc., and accept Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie’s banquet. She will also hold discussions with think tanks and civic groups in the fields of national defense, democracy, and human rights, and visit Taiwan Culture and Economics Construction.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Beale has long supported Taiwan’s freedom and democracy and is an important friend of Taiwan. On his first visit to Taiwan, Beale will gain an in-depth understanding of Taiwan’s democratic development, be concerned about the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and explore the potential of Taiwan-Europe cooperation on high-tech supply chain resilience.
Pelosi will visit Taiwan?
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The Financial Times reported on Tuesday (July 19) that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan in August, citing sources.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday (July 19) that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan in August, citing sources.
The report also pointed out that Pelosi and his party will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and stop at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii for a period of time.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had not received relevant information about the visit.
Asked about the report, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said: “We do not confirm or deny international travel in advance because of long-term security agreements.”
The Chinese side expressed firm opposition to the news of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China firmly opposes any form of official U.S.-Taiwan exchanges. “The U.S. Congress is an integral part of the U.S. government and should strictly abide by the ‘one China’ policy pursued by the United States. If Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan, It will seriously violate the ‘one China’ principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, seriously damage China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously impact the political foundation of Sino-US relations, and send a serious wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
“If the U.S. goes its own way, China will take resolute and forceful measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this,” Zhao Lijian said.
At the same time, Zhao Lijian also expressed dissatisfaction with Bill’s visit to Taiwan. “China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the EU and Taiwan, and urges the EU to strictly abide by the ‘one China’ principle and be cautious in its words and deeds on Taiwan-related issues, so as to avoid serious disruption to China-EU relations.”
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Pelosi is second in the list of U.S. successor presidents, behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Regarding the plans of various parties to come to or visit Taiwan, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an assistant professor at Donghua University in Taiwan, told the BBC Chinese that more and more people are aware of the threat posed by the continuous development of authoritarianism around the world, and the European Union Also begin to reflect on your own abilities and strengthen your partnerships with like-minded partners who are vulnerable to coercion.
“It’s China’s aggressive stance, whether in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, or Taiwan, or its recent approach to Russia’s diplomatic support, wolf warrior diplomacy, and weaponized trade that brings democracies closer.”
She noted that the European Parliament now sees Taiwan as a reliable and like-minded partner of the EU in the Indo-Pacific, which is a positive sign for Taipei.
But Feng Rusha believes that if an emergency occurs in Taiwan, how the EU will respond depends on the political will and the EU’s ability.
“Currently, the EU’s military power is limited, and member states have not shown the political will to engage directly. That is, the EU has no position on contingencies in Taiwan. EU member states are now paying more and more attention to their partner Taiwan. , but mainland China remains an important trading partner of the EU.”
Feng Rusha also pointed out that because the EU has limitations in its willingness and ability to act, their strength lies in the economy. As a result, “the EU knows that market access is critical for China, Beijing wants stable relations with Europe, and the EU can use its economic clout as leverage to deter Chinese aggression.”