European Parliament delegation visits Taiwan – EURACTIV.com

The European Parliament delegation arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday (November 3) as part of an effort to establish closer ties with the island despite China’s warnings.

The visit took place at a time of high tension between Taiwan and China. China claims to own this autonomous island and vowed to seize it by force if necessary.

In recent years, Beijing has stepped up its efforts to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, and has expressed anger at any attempt to treat Taiwan as an independent country.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the group of seven led by Raphael Glucksmann, a member of the French European Parliament, will meet and describe Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and other senior officials during the three-day visit It was the first “official” delegation of the European Parliament. .

“We look forward to fruitful discussions with like-minded European partners on the defense of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights,” it added in a statement.

Glucksman is an outspoken critic of China. He was one of five lawmakers sanctioned by Beijing in March.

“Neither threats nor sanctions will impress me. Never. I will always stand with those who fight for democracy and human rights. So that’s it: I’m going to Taiwan,” he wrote on Twitter road.

The Chinese mission in Brussels earlier warned that a visit to Taiwan by members of the European Parliament would “damage China’s core interests and undermine the healthy development of China-EU relations.”

When a group of French senators traveled to Taiwan last month, and Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu recently visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Beijing reacted angrily.

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Since Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016, China-Taiwan relations have plummeted because she believes that Taiwan is a de facto sovereign country and not part of “One China.”

After Chinese fighter planes invaded Taiwan’s air defense zone, the island’s defense minister stated that military tensions with Beijing have reached the highest level in 40 years.