TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan empathizes with Ukraine’s situation and supports the EU’s efforts to keep the peace on the continent, Representative to Austria Katherine Chang (張小月) said recently.

The Austrian newspaper Die Presse wrote earlier this month that China is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine. If war breaks out, Die Presse predicted, the U.S.’ attention will shift from China to Europe and Western sanctions against Russia will lead to a closer alliance between China and Russia, enabling Moscow to expand its sphere of influence further and endanger the West.

In a letter to the editor published by Die Presse on Feb. 19, Chang pointed out that it is only February and yet flashpoints have already appeared — Ukraine in the west and Taiwan in the east. China is indeed watching the West’s reaction to the situation in Ukraine, she concurred, and plans to annex democratic Taiwan, CNA reported.

Chang stressed that Taiwan is concerned about the developments around Ukraine, and not only because it can be compared to Taiwan’s situation but because Taiwanese care about the Ukrainian people. The desire for freedom, democracy, and human rights is universal, and so Taiwan can deeply feel the threat Ukraine faces now, she wrote.

Chang said that as authoritarian countries become more aggressive, Western countries have recently begun closing ranks. The EU declared in its 2021 annual report that it would support freedom around the world on the basis of shared universal values, and Taiwan supports the EU in playing a more important role defending human freedoms and peaceful coexistence, she concluded.