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EU Parliament trade group to visit Taiwan
Courtesy of ICRT
The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade says it will be sending a group to Taiwan later this month. It will be the first time that such a delegation will visit Taiwan.
The committee's chairman Bernd Lange says the trip will take place from 19-21 December and he hopes the visit will yield fruitful discussions between Taiwan and the European Union on deepening collaborations.
The delegation will be led by Iuliu Winkler, a committee member in charge of affairs relating to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Winkler says aside from working together on supply chain security, the EU and Taiwan should also work on strengthening collaborations on research and development projects.
In other news about foreign visitors, members of a visiting parliamentary delegation from the UK will be meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen later today. The delegation is composed of members of the UK's Foreign Affairs Committee. It's being led by lawmaker Alicia Kearns and includes lawmakers from the U-K's Conservative and Labour parties and the Scottish National Party. It arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a five-day visit. The delegation has already met with Premier Su Tseng-chang and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
Officials say the talks are focusing on bilateral relations between Taiwan and the UK, the situation in the Taiwan Strait, and the challenges facing both sides, including the spread of fake news and proliferation of cyber-attacks. It is the first UK parliamentarian group to visit Taiwan since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
China has slammed the visit - accusing the British lawmakers of "gross interference" in its internal affairs and the Chinese embassy in London has released a statement saying any moves to undermine China's interests would be met with "forceful responses."
