00:00Earlier this week, Nikkei Asia reported that Taiwan has faced a two-year delay in setting
00:04up a representative office in Estonia.
00:07What do you think this says about the state of Taiwan-EU relations?
00:10I think it tells us that EU-Taiwan relations are seeing a momentum that we've seen in the
00:17past few years, and the fact that there is an upholding factor which concerns the name
00:23should not let this momentum stall.
00:26However, I think it's important that Taiwan gives it the right importance and both sides
00:33treat this issue with the level of commitment that is required in order to move this relationship
00:40forward.
00:41So opening the office is a priority, being stuck on the name, it stands in its way.
00:46Generally speaking, how important are these offices to how Taiwan manages its relationship
00:51with EU countries?
00:52Well, it is important for Taiwan to increase its visibility across the EU.
00:57We've seen in the past few years this visibility grow and there's more understanding of Taiwan
01:03and Taiwan's importance to the EU and its interest in the Indo-Pacific.
01:07However, there's a lot more that needs to be done to bring Taiwan closer to the EU.
01:12So this hangs on what the government does and its offices, Taipei offices, do in different
01:17member states.
01:18But I think this needs to continue at the level of academia, civil society, bottom-up, top-down.
01:24It is important to have these offices function as a representation of what Taiwan stands for
01:31and what its people can bring to contribute to Europe's prosperity and security.
01:35Germany and China's respective foreign ministers had a phone call earlier this week.
01:39In China's readout of the call, it says that they asked the German side to oppose so-called
01:43Taiwanese independence.
01:45While we haven't seen Germany's readout of the call yet, do you have any insight as to
01:48how EU countries see cross-trade dynamics?
01:50We see that it's going to be a difficult process because member states diverge on the kind of
01:56relationship they want to have with China.
01:59But I think they do converge that this relationship needs balance.
02:02I think there's also divergence between member states on what Taiwan's role should be in this
02:09relationship.
02:11I think Taiwan's status and Taiwan's relationship with China is not up for conversation or discussion
02:18with the EU.
02:19It's not for the EU to decide on the future of cross-trade relations, but it is up to the
02:24EU to commit to upholding rule of law and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and in
02:31the Indo-Pacific.
02:32But every single member states need to feel that they have a seat at this table.
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