Tsai Arrives in Berlin as Taiwan Seeks To Boost Europe Ties

TaiwanPlus News

Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen arrives in Berlin as Taipei seeks to strengthen ties with Europe. Her visit comes shortly after current Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao delivered a speech in the European Parliament.

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00:00former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen arrives in Germany just a day after Taiwan's vice president

00:09Bi Kim Hsiao returned from her breakthrough trip to Brussels.

00:20Tsai will give a speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference on Monday, which she said she hoped

00:24would help strengthen Taiwan's partnership with the country. Taiwan has been working hard in the

00:29region. These back-to-back visits are part of the country's broader efforts to deepen ties with

00:34Europe. Last Friday, Taiwan's vice president gave an unprecedented speech inside the European

00:40Parliament at the summit of the Interparliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, a forum of lawmakers

00:46concerned about China's global threats, calling for continued support for Taiwan and for democracies

00:51everywhere. We don't just want to survive, we want democracies to thrive. We're not just defending

01:00what we have, but building what we want the future to look like. This was a huge deal for Taiwan. Most

01:08European countries do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, instead choosing to

01:12recognize China. They frequently face backlash for any interaction with the Taiwanese government,

01:17as China claims Taiwan as its territory. So allowing a sitting Taiwanese vice president to visit, let

01:24alone give a public speech in parliament, is rare to say the least. Taiwan's foreign minister,

01:29Lin Jialong, who also made two visits to Europe in September, to Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria and

01:35Poland, said it showed Taiwan-Europe ties are entering a new phase. Taiwan's focus on the region comes as

01:42China increasingly tries to isolate it diplomatically, poaching its allies with several cutting ties with

01:48Taiwan in recent years, and only 12 remaining. In a speech at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland,

01:54Foreign Minister Lin called on Europe to stand with Taiwan against authoritarianism.

01:59And today, authoritarian regimes, mainly China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have formed an axis of upheaval to

02:10challenge the rule-based international order. And China is largely seen as the decisive

02:18enabler behind Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, democracies around the world must act in concert to

02:28counter the existential and systemic threat. As Taiwan seeks to deepen its engagement with Europe,

02:35each visit, from the vice president to the former president, shows a growing resolve to forge

02:40partnerships despite pressure from Beijing. Klein-Wong and Cadence Quaranta for Taiwan Plus.

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