Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) German MEP Nicola Beer pledged support for Taiwan to officials in Taipei during her visit on Tuesday.
She stressed that the EU and Taiwan have to cooperate as members of a “family of democracies,” according to DW reporting.
“Taiwan’s bloom is also Europe’s bloom… we won’t turn a blind eye to China’s threats to Taiwan,” she announced and added “Europe was late for Hong Kong, we won’t be late for Taiwan.”
Beer met with Taiwanese officials on the first day of her three-day visit, aimed at strengthening cooperation with Taiwan against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and China’s crackdown on the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong.
Beer wants bilateral deal
She expressed belief that the EU-Taiwan partnership should be strengthened and built around a bilateral investment agreement.
Addressing Premier of Taiwan Su Tseng-chang in a televised meeting, Beer stated that the EU wants to help Taiwan to participate in international institutions.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will likely object to Beer’s visit to Taiwan as the party reacts negatively to official exchanges between third countries and Taiwan.
Also on Tuesday, the Chinese government threatened to take “forceful measures” if Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan.
The announcement came after the Financial Times reported Pelosi would visit Taiwan as part of her Far Eastern tour, along with Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill noted that the Office of the Speaker does not “confirm or deny international travel in advance due to longstanding security protocols.”
Pelosi was initially to visit Taiwan in April, but she postponed the trip after testing positive for COVID-19. The CCP reacted to the announcement by warning that the planned visit would have negative effects on relations between Washington and Beijing.
Earlier this week, the Chinese government called on the US to scrap a potential arms sale to Taiwan worth some US$ 100 million, according to Reuters.
The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that the US Department of State approved the potential sale to Taiwan.Concerns that China could attack Taiwan have increased in the wake of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
