It is high time for Europe to stand with Taiwan given both face the same threats from authoritarian neighbours, the island’s foreign minister said on Monday, seeking to find common cause with European democracies during a visit to Poland.
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has found an increasingly sympathetic ear in parts of central and eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, even though almost all European countries only maintain formal diplomatic ties with Beijing and not Taipei.
Addressing the Warsaw Security Forum, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said economic security was inseparable from national security.
“Today, authoritarian regimes, namely China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, have formed an axis of upheaval to challenge the rule-based international order. China is largely seen as the decisive enabler behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
Europe faces threats from Russian hybrid operations, similar to what Taiwan faces from China, like cyber attacks and military exercises, Lin added.
“It is high time for Europe to stand with Taiwan, to forge a robust coalition for our shared values and halt the expansion of authoritarian regimes. Taiwan is ready to work with Europe; is Europe ready to work with Taiwan?”
…
@[email protected]
As Lutz Gullner, the Head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, said this summer at an event in Taipei, the Taiwan-EU relationship “is based on trustworthy friendship and common values [such as the commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law]”.
The government of China clearly doesn’t share these values.
No country holds these values. It’s just pr speech.