News
German lawmakers meet president
The visiting chairman of the German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group says Taiwan should be proud of its democratic development. Klaus-Peter Willsch made the statement during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office.
The German lawmaker says he first met Tsai in Berlin in 2011, when the DPP was then the opposition party, while his Christian Democratic Union was the ruling party in Germany.
Willsch said his part is now an opposition party while Tsai has become the president of Taiwan and the DPP is the ruling party - which he described as the "true meaning of democracy."
The German lawmaker also lauded Taiwan for playing a major role in the world's semiconductor industry - saying "the world's industries will face serious problems without Taiwan's semiconductors."
Willsch is heading a seven-member delegation to Taiwan consisting of lawmakers from six different political parties on a five-day visit. It consists of lawmakers from six different political parties and is the first official one from the German parliament to come to Taiwan since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
During their five-day visit through Thursday, the delegation members will also visit the Legislative Yuan and meet with lawmakers of the Taiwan and Germany Parliamentary Friendship Association and hold meetings with local security think tanks.
The delegation is also scheduled to visit the Tainan Science Park to enhance two-way exchanges in trade and investment, high-tech industry, and supply-chain security, MOFA said.
Willsch said the German Federal Parliament has over the years passed a series of resolutions and papers to pledge its support toward Taiwan should it come under attack from China.
