EU wants good ties with Beijing, but will still stand with Taiwan, top lawmaker says
- Status quo cannot be changed against the will of the Taiwanese people, European Parliament Vice-President Nicola Beer says in Taipei
- Europe has stood up for Taiwan because it was too naive to trust Beijing on keeping its promise to Hong Kong, asserts German lawmaker
Beer, a European Parliament vice-president, also said it was necessary for Europe not to give in to Beijing’s demands when it came to protecting the peace and stability of others.
“The EU wants to continue to have good relations with China, but this doesn’t hinder us from speaking [clearly],” she said, referring to freedom and democracy, and peace and stability for others, including Taiwan and Lithuania.
Asked to comment on a possible attack on the island by Beijing, she said the European Parliament wants to “protect the status quo, which cannot be changed against the will of the Taiwanese people”.
Beer said Europe has stood up for Taiwan because it was too naive to trust Beijing on keeping its promise to Hong Kong.
“[We were] too naive to think that [Beijing’s] promise to respect a special system in Hong Kong on the basis of democracy would be fulfilled,” she said, referring to the “one country, two systems” framework and the 50 years of autonomy promised to the former British colony.
“It was not fulfilled, and so we have to take our lesson not to be naive in the case of Taiwan. And this is the reason why we make it clear that we stand for freedom and for democracy in Taiwan,” Beer said, adding this was also “one of the reasons that the European Parliament is very outspoken on this topic”.