President Tsai meets cross-group delegation from European Parliament
On the morning of July 17, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a cross-group delegation from the European Parliament. In addition to thanking the European Parliament for supporting a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement (BIA) and Taiwan's international participation, the president also reaffirmed that Taiwan will continue to promote bilateral industrial exchanges and cooperation.
President Tsai opened her remarks by welcoming all the delegation members to the Presidential Office. For both first-time visitors and those who had been to Taiwan before, she said she was delighted to have an opportunity for more in-depth interaction.
Over the past two years, the president stated, Taiwan and the EU have initiated cooperative projects of many kinds, in many areas. In March this year, the first Taiwan-EU Human Rights Consultations were held in Taipei, an important advance in bilateral relations. We look forward to even more cooperation with the EU to make positive contributions to the development of human rights, she said.
President Tsai pointed out that the EU has long been Taiwan's largest source of foreign direct investment, and last year, bilateral trade totaled US$53.2 billion, a record high. The European Innovation Week held in Taipei last month saw in-depth discussions on innovative industries and R&D. Taiwan and the EU also signed an Administrative Arrangement on Cluster Cooperation that will help small and medium-sized enterprises on both sides expand into international markets.
She added that Taiwan is also promoting a four-year wind power promotion plan, with many EU firms participating. The president said she believes that when her guests hear about these cooperative ventures, they're as confident as she is that joint efforts by Taiwan and the EU will promote mutual development.
President Tsai then thanked the European Parliament for supporting a BIA between Taiwan and the EU. She also reaffirmed that Taiwan fully supports a Taiwan-EU BIA, and will continue to promote bilateral industrial exchanges and cooperation.
The president specially thanked the European Parliament for supporting Taiwan's international participation. With help from our representative office, Taiwanese abroad held a "Walk with Taiwan" march in Brussels last month to protest China's repeated suppression of Taiwan, and our friends from Belgium and the EU from all walks of life took to the streets to voice their support for Taiwan and safeguard democracy, she said.
President Tsai emphasized that Taiwan's sincere willingness to hold dialogue and communicate with China will not change, but we absolutely will not bow to pressure. Taiwan will remain committed to upholding freedom and democracy as a way of life, and defending our sovereignty. The president also expressed hope that the EU and other members of the international community will realize that China is not just a threat to Taiwan, because other countries may also be facing that same challenge. So we hope that the international community and Taiwan can stand together to defend values like freedom and democracy, she stated.
Also included in the delegation were Members of the European Parliament Frank Engel, Reinhard Bütikofer, Herbert Dorfmann, Ingeborg Grässle, Péter Niedermüller, and Michael Hahn, Adviser to the Chairman of the European Parliament's Group of the European People's Party.