Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Opinion

Let Taiwan's democracy shine brighter

  • Dr Ming-Yen Tsai: 'The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent, sovereign country. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China' (Photo: Screengrab)
Listen to article

US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on 2-3 August, accompanied by five key congressional colleagues, including the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and the vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Indeed, Speaker Pelosi and the members of her delegation have long been concerned with the development of democracy in Taiwan and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The disputed island of Taiwan, as seen from space by NASA (Photo: NASA/Wikimedia)

This visit to Taiwan underscores the high level of bipartisan support for US-Taiwan relations and Taiwan is sincere in its welcome to Pelosi and her delegation.

Speaker Pelosi's op-ed in the Washington Post illustrates why this trip to Taiwan is so important and lays clear the motivation behind it.

She emphasises that her visit to Taiwan was to honour her commitment to democracy, especially as Taiwan was ranked by Freedom House as one of the world's freest democracies.

In the piece, she also notes that Taiwan is a leader in many areas, such as the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, support for environmental conservation and climate action, promotion of peace and security, economic dynamism, innovation and technology.

In the face of China's growing threat to Taiwan, Pelosi clearly states that the United States must reaffirm its commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and never allow any non-peaceful means to determine Taiwan's future.

In no uncertain terms, Speaker Pelosi spells out that the United States must stand with Taiwan, the "Island of Resilience," to advance the common interests of both sides so that the freedoms of Taiwan and all democratic societies are respected.

In recent days, Taiwan has strongly protested and condemned China's irrational and internationally unjustifiable threats against Taiwan based on its opposition to Pelosi's visit.

China is attempting to pressure the international community to abandon its support for Taiwan through campaigns of high-intensity intimidation and retaliation to imagined slights.

However, we can see that the more pressure China puts on Taiwan, the stronger the international community's concern is over cross-strait security and the stronger its support is for Taiwan.

Support from MEPs and G7

Indeed, on 3 August, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries issued a joint statement reiterating their support for a rules-based international order and peace in the Taiwan Strait, and arguing that China's military exercises and economic coercion against Taiwan have created unnecessary tension and risk in the region.

Likewise, in the days since Pelosi's visit, over 30 MEPs have spoken out in support of Pelosi and Taiwan, including the vice-president of the European Parliament Nicola Beer, who recently completed a visit of her own to Taiwan in July, and stressed that Europe must never be late to act in regards to Taiwan.

Michael Gahler, spokesman on foreign affairs for the European People's Party, stated that parliamentarians from the democratic world should visit Taiwan regularly to express their support for a democratic society and government in Taiwan and, more importantly, not accept the intimidation of communist regimes.

Similarly, Reinhard Bütikofer, chair of the parliament's delegation for relations with China, also emphasised that democracies should unite their efforts against the Chinese threat and called for the EU's Taiwan policy to be more attentive to Chinese actions and to cooperate fully with the US.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent, sovereign country. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China.

China's frequent use of military force and economic coercion against Taiwan is not only a threat to this island state's security, but also to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defence capabilities and economic resilience, and will assert its sovereignty and security, while at the same time enhancing cooperation with like-minded countries to defend a rules-based international order.

As Pelosi said, Taiwan is an "island of resilience". That will continue to be the case. Taiwan will continue striving to be a stabilising force for regional security and continue to hold aloft the torch of freedom and democracy, as a beacon, on the frontline against authoritarianism.

Author bio

Dr Ming-Yen Tsai is head of the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

Supporting Taiwan 'like carrying water in a sieve'

China's ambassador to Belgium, Cao Zhongming, says the US has been distorting, obscuring and hollowing out the 'one-China' principle and unscrupulously undermining China's core interests. This is sheer double standards and a shameful act of bad faith.

MEPs in Taiwan - maybe don't rock the boat?

The one lesson these MEPs should have learned before enjoying Taiwan's superb hospitality (great food, marvellous hotels, great headlines) is a simple one: "Don't Rock the Boat".

The UN's Uyghur report must push EU into China sanctions

The UN report's findings should be met by the EU with a more principled and human rights-centred approach to China — urging the UN Office on Genocide Prevention to conduct an assessment of atrocities.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us