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China sharply criticizes the visit of the FDP delegation to Taiwan

2023-01-09T13:43:21.950Z


A delegation from the FDP parliamentary group has traveled to Taiwan – and has infuriated the Chinese government. The Chinese Ambassador to Germany, Wu Ken, issued a warning.


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FDP delegation visiting Taiwan

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan / dpa

China has sharply condemned the visit of a high-ranking delegation from the FDP parliamentary group in Taiwan, also referring to Germany's history.

The cause of the Taiwan problem is that China has suffered severely from "hegemony, colonialism, militarism and nationalism," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin in Beijing.

Germany has “experienced a profound and painful history lesson in this regard”.

Wang called on the FDP delegation to "seriously adhere to the one-China principle."

Part of the so-called One China policy is to recognize Beijing as the sole representative of China.

The Federal Republic of Germany also does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and maintains diplomatic relations only with the People's Republic of China.

A high-ranking delegation from the FDP parliamentary group had previously arrived in Taiwan.

The deputies wanted to "send a sign of solidarity with Taiwan," said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), Chairwoman of the Bundestag Defense Committee.

The delegation first met Taiwanese MPs in Taipei.

"We had a lot of interesting people to talk to today," explained Strack-Zimmermann afterwards.

Both sides exchanged views on "the security situation in the region" and on deepening economic relations between Taiwan and Germany.

According to the parliamentary director of the FDP parliamentary group, Johannes Vogel, the question was also "how Taiwan can in future overcome its dependence on fossil energy imports through innovation and technical progress".

Taiwan is under growing pressure from Beijing.

Since the split between China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland - if necessary by military force.

The Chinese government has always opposed visits by foreign lawmakers to Taiwan, calling them interference in its internal affairs.

A meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is scheduled for Tuesday.

According to Strack-Zimmermann, meetings with "high-ranking representatives from politics, civil society and the military" are planned for the visit, which is scheduled to last until Thursday.

Accordingly, the delegation wants to discuss the current "threat situation" during the talks.

In the spring, a German government member, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), is expected to visit Taiwan.

It would be the first visit by a German government member to Taiwan in 26 years.

Warning from the Chinese Ambassador

Vogel described Taiwan's situation as "very complex" and asserted that Germany and Europe "support a one-China policy."

However, Beijing's military threat to Taiwan is "unacceptable."

The FDP delegation wanted their visit to Taiwan to be understood "as a gesture of support," he told the Taiwanese colleagues.

The Chinese ambassador to Germany, Wu Ken, warned German politicians against changing course in dealings with Taiwan.

"But I would also like to advise individual politicians not to play with fire on the Taiwan question and not to test Chinese red lines," said Wu in an interview with the "Handelsblatt" when asked about a possible visit to Taiwan by a member of the federal government.

"The one-China principle also provided the political basis for establishing and expanding diplomatic relations between China and Germany," Wu said.

All previous federal governments have committed themselves to this "political obligation".


till/AFP

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-01-09

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