President Chen Meets with Mr. Klaus Buehler
Taipei, April 10 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian made pitch for an Taipei-Bonn taxation pact to a group of visiting German parliamentarians Wednesday.
Noting that Taiwan has already signed double taxation avoidance pacts with the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the president told the eight pro-Taiwan German lawmakers that similar measures would serve the interests of Taipei and Bonn.
Chen also sought Bonn's support for his country's bid to join the World Health Organization as an observer, which is one of Taipei's priorities, saying both the European Union and the United States have vowed to rally behind Taiwan's efforts.
As a lawyer-turned-politician, Chen said, he was inspired by the relationship between East and West Germany in formulating his administration's approach toward Beijing and based his calls in 2000 for "integration" between Taiwan and the mainland on the political structure of the E.U.
According to the E.U. experience, the president went on, the normalization of ties between Taipei and Beijing should start from trust-building via economic exchanges and cooperation, which should be the precondition to any political integration.
The German parliamentarian group, led by Klaus Buehler, arrived in Taiwan Monday for a six-day visit. As a firm supporter of Taiwan, Beuhler has visited the island twice before, during the presidencies of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo and former President Lee Teng-hui.
He and his delegation are scheduled to depart Taipei April 13.