November 1, 2023
No. 374
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Jaushieh Joseph Wu hosted a banquet on the evening of October 31 to welcome a delegation led by Andrey Kovatchev, First Vice-Chair of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group. He thanked Mr. Kovatchev and delegation members Ivan Štefanec and Leopoldo López Gil, also members of the European Parliament, for their staunch and long-standing support for Taiwan and for taking concrete action to promote Taiwan-EU cooperation, and championing the shared values of freedom and democracy.
In thanking the European Parliament for its firm backing for Taiwan, Minister Wu emphasized that the European Parliament had passed more than 20 Taiwan-friendly resolutions over the past two years. These resolutions supported Taiwan’s international participation, expressed concern over the situation across the Taiwan Strait, and called upon the European Union to deepen cooperative relations with Taiwan. He also noted that the European Parliament had sent official delegations to Taiwan for three consecutive years, supporting Taiwan through concrete action and demonstrating the potential for further Taiwan-EU cooperation.
Mr. Kovatchev thanked Minister Wu for his hospitality and said it was an honor to have been invited to Taiwan once again. He stressed that the European Parliament’s backing for Taiwan represented a cross-party consensus and that its pro-Taiwan resolutions had been passed with overwhelming support. Adding that Taiwan and Europe were like-minded partners, he thanked Taiwan for standing firmly in support of Ukraine and for continuing to provide assistance, stating that this showed the unity of the global democratic alliance in the face of authoritarian expansion.
The two sides engaged in an in-depth exchange of opinions on issues including economics and trade, security, cooperation to assist Ukraine, and countering disinformation. They both agreed that Taiwan and the European Parliament would continue to promote an array of cooperation and exchanges so as to further bolster their friendly, values-based relationship. (E)