German lawmakers call for deeper ties with Taiwan

by Sean Sinico
October 6th, 2022

A group of six German parliamentarians from six different Bundestag parliamentary groups underlined their desire to deepen ties with Taiwanese counterparts Thursday as they wrapped up a five-day visit to the island.

Led by Klaus-Peter Willsch of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the group repeatedly stressed that the trip was solely aimed at fostering cooperation between each country’s respective parliaments and that it in no way represented the German government as a whole nor the Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

The trip began Sunday and was harshly criticized by China, which has been repeatedly irked by Western politicians visiting Taiwan as it ratchets up threats of a military incursion into the island — which sees itself as autonomous and which Beijing sees as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

When German politicians arrived Sunday, Beijing again asserted that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and admonished lawmakers to abide by Beijing’s “One China” policy, calling for them to “immediately” end contact with “separatists” in Taipei.

China is Germany’s second-largest trading partner behind the US.

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