TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group delegation expressed hope for closer cooperation between the two countries during a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) press conference on Thursday (Oct. 6).
Klaus-Peter Willsch, leader of the delegation and chairman of the Taiwan Friendship Group, said the group had very fruitful talks with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Legislative Speaker You Hsi-kun (游錫堃), Taiwanese scholars, and think tanks concerning different issues and discussed possible areas of future cooperation.
Willsch said the two countries are democracies that follow the rule of law. Meeting with Taiwanese partners is very significant given Taiwan and Germany share common values, including freedom, he added.
The parliamentarian said COVID-19 had prevented parliament delegations from coming to Taiwan, but now that it has waned, visits will resume to pre-pandemic levels, he said.
Taiwan Friendship Group Deputy Chair Katrin Budde said that the delegation had “very open” dialogue with Taiwanese officials and scholars throughout their visit. “There were no topics off-limits,” Budde said.
She said the two countries will deepen cooperation in culture, particularly between museums, as well as strengthen exchanges concerning transitional justice.
Taiwan Friendship Group Deputy Chair Frank Schaffler said the parliament’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid will come to Taiwan soon and another group is scheduled to visit next year. He praised Taiwan as an important trade partner of Germany and said a free trade agreement is necessary to bring the two countries closer together.
Dr. Till Steffen, also a deputy chair of the Taiwan Friendship Group, told Taiwan News that the delegation learned a lot about shared concerns such as housing, energy supply, and science. Steffen lauded Taiwan’s “vivid democracy,” which he said has thrived because of its free market and successful economy.
He identified energy supply as “very crucial” for Taiwan and said Germany “had to learn the hard way” just how dependent it was on other countries for its energy needs. Steffen said that energy can easily be weaponized.
The lawmaker also said the two countries “have ambitious goals in order to fight (the) climate crisis, which is really a severe threat in (the) future.” “We are looking forward to your experiences because Taiwan is very innovative. And we can learn a lot from (Taiwan) because there are many problems to be solved (in) that way," he added.
Steffen mentioned that he is both in both the German Parliament’s Taiwan and Ukraine friendship groups because “these are important relationships.” Though he acknowledged that the war in Ukraine is different from Taiwan’s situation, “there are many lessons to be learned”, he said.
The most important takeaway is that “democracies have to support each other,” he said, pointing out that authoritarian regimes are already doing so, such as Beijing and Moscow.
Thus, we need to have as close ties as possible amongst democratic nations, Steffen said. “Our visit should be a small contribution to that.”
The delegation is scheduled to depart Taiwan later on Thursday. In addition to meeting with top Taiwan government officials, the group also visited the Tainan Science Park, located in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, to bolster bilateral exchanges in the high-tech industry, supply-chain security, and trade, MOFA said.
