Taipei, April 8 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian expressed the hope Thursday that Germany will not support an easing or lifting of a European Union ban to sell arms to mainland China that was imposed in the wake of the Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing in 1989.
President Chen made the remarks when he met Klaus Rose, head of a Germany-Taiwan friendship group from the federal parliament, at the Presidential Office. Rose arrived in Taipei Sunday for a six-day visit.
The president took the chance to thank Rose first for the hospitality extended to Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, when she visited Germany in July 2003 to help open a National Palace Museum exhibition there.
Noting that the Germany-Taiwan friendship group is one of the largest groups in the parliament, with 59 members, the president expressed his appreciation for the group's support and assistance to Taiwan under Rose's leadership, especially in cultural exchanges and trade cooperation.
Noting that the exhibition of National Palace Museum artifacts was successful, the president said that a Prussian cultural heritage foundation from Germany will have an exhibition in Taiwan after May.
In terms of trade exchanges, the president pointed out that Taiwan is the third-largest trading partner of Germany in Asia, while Germany is the largest trading partner of Taiwan in Europe, with bilateral trade hitting US$10 billion last year.
Taiwan manufacturers have been active in taking part in trade fairs in Germany, with the number of manufacturers taking part in the prestigious Cebit exhibition in Hanover exceeded those from other countries for the sixth consecutive year.
The president also said that he was concerned that some countries in the European Union are trying to lift or east the arms sales ban on mainland China.
He said that the ban was imposed because of the poor human rights record in the mainland. So far, Beijing has not improved its human rights record to warrant lifting the ban, he claimed.
He expressed the hope that Rose would use his influence in the parliament by urging his country not to ease or lift the ban.
The president also is concerned about Germany's intention to sell a plutonium factory to mainland China, saying that Beijing could someday use it to produce nuclear weapons, therefore jeopardizing world peace.