TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Last week, a petition appeared on the Ukrainian president's website calling for the establishment of a Ukrainian representative office in Taiwan.
On Aug. 15, a petition was posted on the official website of the President of Ukraine urging the Ukrainian government to open a Ukrainian economic and cultural representative office, a de facto embassy, in Taiwan. If the petition receives more than 25,000 signatures from Ukrainian citizens within three months, the Ukrainian president must make an official response.
The title of the petition is "About the establishment of a commercial and cultural representative office of Ukraine in the Republic of China (Taiwan)." The petition states that after Russia invaded Ukraine, Taiwan supported Ukraine, condemned Russia, imposed sanctions on Russia, and donated supplies to Ukrainian cities, organizations, and citizens. However, China refused to condemn or sanction Russia and continued to deepen relations with the "aggressor state."
The petition pointed out that for too long Ukraine has ignored relations with Taiwan in the hope of landing "big investments" from China, "but this path turned out to be wrong." Meanwhile, allies such as the U.S., the U.K., the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Poland, despite not recognizing Taiwan's independence, maintained stable interactions with the country.
The creators of the petition then noted that the level of cooperation between Ukraine and Taiwan is "even lower than the relationship" between Russia and Taiwan, "which already seems absurd." The petition, therefore, called on the strengthening of ties between the two democracies in an era of autocratic states challenging the sovereignty of democratic nations.
The authors called for an end to the era of "appeasement of aggressors and dictatorships" and for Ukraine, like their allies, to establish relations with Taiwan, which they observed is a leading economy in Asia and the world. They asserted that such ties would have a positive impact on the Ukrainian economy and technical development of the country.
The petition closed by calling for the creation of a commercial and cultural representative office for Ukraine in Taiwan which would perform the functions of a Ukrainian embassy. At the same time, it called for negotiations with Taiwan's government to set up a Taiwan representative office in Kyiv.
Alex Khomenko, a 44-year-old Ukrainian entrepreneur and software developer who resides in Taiwan, was cited by Liberty Times as saying that the petition and the Ukrainian parliament's proposed Taiwan Friendship Group are both signs that the Ukrainian people hope that the government will recognize the help provided by Taiwan and the potential for bilateral relations. Khomenko said that although the petition seems unlikely to meet the minimum signature threshold at present, Taiwan's efforts are appreciated and more Ukrainians need to be persuaded not to be afraid of "provoking China" and believe that closer ties can be promoted in the future.
In addition, to mark Independence Day of Ukraine, which is on Wednesday (Aug. 24), the Ukrainian community in Taiwan will hold a cultural celebration outdoors in Taipei on Saturday (Aug. 27). The event will feature Ukrainian food, drinks, refreshments, a second-hand bazaar, a gift market, traditional handicraft workshops, music, and performances.
Those interested in reviewing or signing the petition can do so by viewing the page for No. 22/156436-ep in the electronic petitions section of the President of Ukraine website.
