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Tensions in Taiwan“After Putin comes Xi”
A delegation of German parliamentarians arrived in Taiwan on Monday, an initiative strongly condemned by Beijing in full tension with Taipei.
The delegation of parliamentarians is expected to meet, during its visit organized from Monday to Thursday, representatives of the government and the opposition as well as human rights organizations, representatives of the economy and the military.
AFP
A delegation of German parliamentarians arrived in Taiwan on Monday, an initiative strongly condemned by Beijing in full tension with Taipei, before a German ministerial visit planned for this year.
German visit to Taiwan
Johannes Vogel, of the liberal FDP party, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, posted on Twitter a photo of him and his colleague Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, on board the “plane for Taiwan”, which Beijing claims sovereignty.
The deputies intend to “show (their) solidarity with the people of Taiwan through this trip,” Ms. Strack-Zimmermann, chairman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, told AFP on Thursday.
Chinese condemnation
The Chinese Foreign Ministry quickly condemned the visit. “The root cause of Taiwan’s problem is precisely that the law of the jungle, hegemonism, colonialism, militarism and nationalism were rampant in the world, and China suffered deeply from this,” the spokesperson said. of the ministry, Wang Wenbin, during a press conference.
“Germany has (experienced) a deep and painful historical lesson on this subject,” he added, apparently in reference to the Second World War. “We urge these German politicians to sincerely uphold the one-China principle.”
“After Putin comes Xi”
This trip should be followed in the spring by a visit by the German Minister of Education, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also from the FDP. It would be the first German ministerial visit to Taiwan in 26 years.
The delegation of parliamentarians is expected to meet, during its visit organized from Monday to Thursday, representatives of the government and the opposition as well as human rights organizations, representatives of the economy and the military, with whom they will discuss of the current “threat situation”, said Mrs. Strack-Zimmermann before the trip.
The German elected official believes that after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Chinese President Xi Jinping could, like his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, also be tempted to start a war. “After Putin comes Xi,” Mr. Vogel said. “We must take these autocrats at their word and seriously.”
German dependency
German parliamentarians are also concerned about Germany’s excessive economic dependence on China, its main trading partner in 2021. “It can only be unfavorable for us to make ourselves economically dependent on dictatorial states”, affirmed Ms Strack-Zimmermann, recalling Berlin’s recent experience with Russian hydrocarbons.
These German diplomatic initiatives are likely to cause tensions with Beijing, which opposes visits by foreign MPs, qualified as interference in its internal affairs.
(AFP)