European Parliament vice-president urges Beijing to open ‘respectful’ dialogue with Taiwan
- MEP Nicola Beer tells the island’s President Tsai Ing-wen that the Taiwanese people should be allowed to determine their own future
- The EU has been developing its economic relationship with the island despite mainland China’s efforts to isolate Taipei diplomatically
She reaffirmed support for Taiwan’s right to determine its own future amid Chinese threats to take the island by force, saying Beijing should “refrain from its threatening gestures” and not destroy the island’s prosperity.
“Taiwan deserves to play this role as a global, strategic, responsible and reliable international partner to the full,” Beer told Tsai.
“Only the Taiwanese people can decide on Taiwanese future,” Beer said, adding that China should “take an active and constructive part in maintaining and securing the current status quo based on mutual and respectful dialogue”.
In her comments, Tsai hailed growing economic relations between Taiwan and the EU and the passage of 20 resolutions in the European Parliament since the start of 2021 favourable to Taipei.