TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A recent series of milestones in Taiwan’s diplomacy indicates the country has growing support despite the unpredictable geopolitical climate of US President Donald Trump’s second term, according to the Financial Times.
On Monday, former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) spoke to the World Freedom Conference in Berlin, an occasion that former European Parliament Member Reinhard Butikofer said would have been “unthinkable” five years ago, given Germany’s wariness around upsetting China. It was her first visit to Germany in 12 years.
Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) also made a recent trip to Brussels, where she addressed the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China at the European Parliament. It marked the first speech by a senior Taiwanese official at an EU institution.
Upon her return to Taiwan, Hsiao said, “Those who take the right way get a lot of help,” quoting the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, per the report.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has been on a diplomatic swing in recent months as well, travelling to Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Lin also made a stop in New York during the General Assembly session at the United Nations, despite Taiwan’s exclusion from the international body.
China has protested all of the recent trips and speeches by Taiwanese officials. However, something appears to be changing — at least in some countries.
Noah Barkin, senior adviser at Rhodium Group, told the FT, “When Tsai won re-election in 2020, Berlin refused to congratulate her. But Germany’s position has evolved in recent years as China has ramped up pressure on Taiwan and tried to force its own definition of the one China policy on other countries.”
Meanwhile, in Japan, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae recently said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. Insiders from Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party told the FT these remarks fall in line with a stance established by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
