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On the morning of September 18, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a cross-group delegation from the European Parliament (EP). She expressed hope that the EP's legislative organs will continue to exert their influence to upgrade relations with Taiwan. We will also continue to value and expand substantive exchanges with the EP.
President Tsai opened her remarks by welcoming long-term supporter Mr. Ivo Vajgl to Taiwan, along with all the other distinguished EP members. She said that most of the delegation members were visiting Taiwan for the first time and expressed hope that over the next few days, they will see Taiwan's appealing culture, and Taiwanese aspire to actively contribute to the international community.
Last week, the president pointed out, the EP adopted a report on the state of EU-China relations, which was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of EP members from the major parliamentary groups. It urges China to refrain from endangering cross-strait peace and stability. It also calls on the EU to continue supporting Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations, and begin negotiations for a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement. She said that we were happy to see the future path mapped out in the report. So on behalf of the people of Taiwan, the president took the opportunity to thank all of our friends in the EP.
President Tsai mentioned that early this month, she delivered a pre-recorded speech at an EP seminar for the first time. In that speech, she stated that China's actions are breaking the status quo of peaceful cross-strait relations. But China's conduct has only deepened Taiwan's resolve, and we remain resilient and determined to safeguard our precious democracy. But we do need international support, and hope that our like-minded European partners will join us in working for the greater good.
The president said that the visiting delegation includes members from Slovenia, Croatia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Portugal, whose countries all have an important common denominator with Taiwan. Over the past 30 to 40 years, we have all experienced great hardships, and fought for democratic achievements that we can be proud of today. So we all understand that the spirit of democracy and the right to live in peace are precious. She then expressed hope for closer dialogue and cooperation with the European Union (EU) and all its member nations. This is particularly true for EU members that have historical experiences similar to Taiwan, and have undergone remarkable democratic transformations.
Over the past two years, President Tsai noted, Taiwan-EU bilateral trade and two-way tourist arrivals have reached all-time highs. The two sides also signed an Administrative Arrangement on Cluster Cooperation. So the president is confident that Taiwan and the EU can build on the existing friendship, and continue to deepen government and people-to-people relations.
In closing, President Tsai stated that the EP has passed many resolutions supporting Taiwan over the past few years. She then expressed hope that the EP's legislative organs will continue to exert their influence to upgrade relations with Taiwan. And Taiwan will also continue to value and expand substantive exchanges with the EP, she said.
Also included in the delegation were EP members Jozo Radoš, Urmas Paet, and Tomáš Zdechovský; Tadej Slapnik, State Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister of Slovenia; and Alexandre Krauss, Senior Political Advisor of the Alliance of European Liberals and Democrats in the EP.
