Former President Tsai Ing-wen Addresses Berlin Freedom Conference

TaiwanPlus News

Former President Tsai Ing-wen has addressed the Berlin Freedom Conference, days after Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao made a historic speech at the EU Parliament. The two appearances mark Taiwan's efforts to double down on efforts to engage with diplomatically with Europe.

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00:00Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks on the importance of defending democracy

00:05at the inaugural Berlin Freedom Conference.

00:08In Europe, as in Asia, the authoritarian tool kit is very similar.

00:15Much of the destabilizing tactics Taiwan has faced in recent years

00:20tend to find their way to Europe eventually.

00:23The conference is just one of many events during Berlin Freedom Week,

00:27commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall over 30 years ago.

00:31Tsai's address comes as part of a diplomatic double-down for Taiwan in the region.

00:36Last week, Vice President Bi-Kim Xiao became Taiwan's first-ever senior political figure

00:42to address the EU Parliament, speaking to a group of lawmakers from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance

00:48on China, a coalition focused on China policy. Both speeches highlight Taiwan's place on the front

00:55lines of democracy as Taipei faces threats of invasion and annexation from Beijing.

01:01Peace in the Taiwan Strait is essential to global stability and economic continuity,

01:07and international opposition against unilateral changes to the status quo by force cannot be overstated.

01:16Taiwan has been proactively building its resilience on multiple fronts.

01:21But Xiao and Tsai's speeches come amid diplomatic difficulties in Europe. Recently, talks between

01:35Taiwan and Estonia have stalled over Taipei establishing a representative office in the

01:40Baltic nation. Taiwan wants to include the word Taiwan in the office's official name,

01:46but Estonia reportedly refuses to approve the name for fear of angering China.

01:51Germany in recent weeks has been looking to shore up ties with China. During a phone call between

01:57Beijing and Berlin's foreign ministers, China asked Germany to oppose what it called Taiwan independence.

02:05Berlin also seemed to downplay Tsai's visit, saying her trip was a private visit,

02:10and that she wasn't going to meet with any local officials. Even so, this push-pull between Taiwan

02:17and China may be part of Europe's more short-term diplomatic strategy. In the long run, Taipei may be

02:24the more reliable partner for the EU. Therefore, it's so important for Taiwan to also engage

02:30with Europe in security cooperation to the greatest extent possible, also understanding that there are

02:35limitations based on Europe's own one-China policy. China is viewed as a partner, but also a competitor

02:42and systemic rival. Europe seems to be playing a balancing act, carefully navigating its ties with

02:48both Taiwan and China. Taipei, on the other hand, is going all in on courting its European counterparts.

02:55John Hsu, and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.

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