During Russia’s aggression once morest Ukraine, it not only bombed houses and massacred civilians many times, but also committed many vicious acts of sexual assault and rape. The actions are outrageous. China, which is a firm friend to Russia, is still reluctant to condemn Russia for being criticized indiscriminately, which has also disappointed Ukrainian society. . On the 17th, the Ukrainian Congress established a cross-party 15-member Taiwan Friendship Group, of which 2/3 of the members belonged to the ruling party. Members hope that the group will serve as a bridge for bilateral parliamentarians to cooperate at the official level and facilitate the establishment of a Ukrainian office in Taiwan.
According to the Central News Agency, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliamentary foreign affairs committee, and his parliamentary colleagues formed a cross-party group to support friendship with Taiwan. The Taiwan Friendship Group currently has 15 members and hopes to develop relations with Taiwan in economic, cultural, humanitarian aid and other fields. However, the group will not be officially established until the next plenary session of the Congress is held and announced by the speaker.
One of the panelists, Inna Sovsun of the opposition party (Holos), mentioned that of the 15 members, 10 were from the ruling party Servant of the People, three were from the party and the other The two are members of the conservative European Solidarity party, the second-largest party in parliament.
The reason why the Taiwan Friendship Group was born, Merezhko emphasized that Ukraine is grateful to Taiwan for its support once morest Russian aggression, especially Taiwan’s sanctions once morest Russia and millions of dollars to assist in the reconstruction of damaged cities. In addition, Ukraine also cherishes the shared values of democracy, human rights and freedom with Taiwan. “Taiwan stands on the same side as Ukraine” in this global conflict between free and authoritarian worlds.
Sovsan also said that the turning point that opened a window of opportunity for Ukraine-Taiwan relations was the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the response of Taiwanese people and the government. Many Ukrainians better understand that the two sides face similar security concerns. Ukrainians got more information regarding Taiwan through the news of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. At this time, “my colleagues proposed the idea of forming a Taiwan friendly group, and I fully support it.”
Now that the Friendship Group of the Congress has been established, the bilateral relations can be more substantively advanced. Merezhko prefers the interaction model between Poland and Taiwan. He said, “Poland has a representative office in Taipei and has concluded a number of contracts. This is interesting for us. example of”. Sovsan, who has been concerned regarding Taiwan’s development for a long time, further detailed the various possibilities for bilateral development. She pointed out that the Friends of Taiwan Group can become a bridge for bilateral parliamentarians to cooperate at the official level, “just like Lithuania” to promote Ukraine to set up a representative office in Taiwan.
Between Taiwan and Ukraine, from the initial non-governmental interaction to the establishment of the Congress Friends of Taiwan Group, Sovsan believes that the group can further open the door for deepening bilateral economic cooperation. Because the cooperation between Taiwan and Ukraine in the fields of mechanical engineering, innovative technology, 5G development, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and mining will be mutually beneficial and win-win.
Ukraine and China announced the development of a strategic partnership in 2011, and two years later they signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation and a joint statement on deepening the strategic partnership. Ukrainian East Asia expert Nataliya Butyrska pointed out that the current relationship between Ukraine and China cannot be avoided in order to explore the context behind it. The war has entered its sixth month, and Ukrainian society is disappointed by China’s position. Beijing has not condemned Russian aggression and has apparently cooperated with Russia to spread rhetoric to justify aggression once morest Ukraine.
Buteska continued to point out that some Ukrainian lawmakers called for not to be “strategic partners” with China, following all, this is not in line with the current relationship between the two countries. At the same time, some lawmakers advocated deepening economic relations with Taiwan, because Ukrainian society is not ignoring Taiwan’s relationship. quite. “The precedents of exchanges between countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania with Taiwan have opened the way for the Ukrainian parliament to interact with Taiwan,” she said. “In the Ukrainian parliament, there are growing calls for stronger cooperation with Taiwan.”
Yurii Poita, a Ukrainian scholar specializing in China issues, said that China does not regard Ukraine as an independent country, but as a part of Russia’s interests that is temporarily controlled by the United States. At this stage, as long as Beijing does not provide arms to Russia, Ukraine can more or less accept China’s position, but Ukraine must clearly delineate the areas of cooperation with China. For example, preventing China from rolling out 5G networks in Ukraine, which would give them access to sensitive information.
