At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, Premier Su Tseng-chang said that a delegation led by National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin departed Wednesday night to visit countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu is also about to visit several countries in that region, where he will deliver public speeches. The premier is looking forward to a successful trip for the delegation with many cooperative results to diversify our partnerships with friendly countries.
Premier Su said that since last September, many officials and political leaders from European countries have visited Taiwan, strengthening our bilateral relations and friendships. The premier emphasized that frequent reciprocal visits between Taiwan and countries in Europe and successive diplomatic breakthroughs have proven time and again that the international community respects Taiwan's commitment to universal values such as democracy and freedom.
The economic and trade investment mission, which includes NDC Minister Kung, colleagues from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and industry representatives departed Wednesday evening to evaluate economic, trade and investment opportunities in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia. Foreign Minister Wu is also about to visit countries including Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where he will deliver public speeches.
The premier emphasized that this delegation's visit to Central and Eastern European countries is a gesture of gratitude to thank them for donating 850,000 doses of "friendship vaccines" to Taiwan. He also hopes that this delegation will inquire about greater mutual investment and industrial cooperation, and the possibility of setting up bilateral discussion mechanisms.
After the Czech Republic sent Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and his delegation to Taiwan for a visit last September, Taiwan and Lithuania also agreed to strengthen bilateral ties with plans to establish representative offices in each other's countries. Frequent interaction and deepening ties between Taiwan and these Central and Eastern European nations reflects those countries' changing perception of China. Another factor is that Taiwan and our free and democratic partners share not only the same universal values, but also the experience of standing up to authoritarian governments. On the path to democratization, Taiwan and its partners have stood on the same strategic front lines, and are therefore closely linked and mutually supportive.
Taiwan has made great strides in advancing relations with Central and Eastern European nations as well as with Europe overall. Just Thursday, the European Parliament passed the EU-Taiwan Political Relations and Cooperation report by an overwhelming majority. This is the European Parliament's most positive, affirming and supportive report ever on Taiwan, and marks an important milestone in public support for Taiwan's democracy in Europe, the premier said.
This report calls on the EU to enhance relations with Taiwan, including strengthening official exchanges, promoting Taiwan's participation in international organizations, including Taiwan in the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy, and launching preparations for negotiations on an EU-Taiwan bilateral investment agreement. The report also encourages dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Taiwan on industrial and supply chain issues. During a debate on the report at the European Parliament, European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager emphasized that the incursion of Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone jeopardizes European interests. The EU will continue to utilize diplomatic channels and public means to express its concerns to China, while strengthening EU-Taiwan ties and cooperation to ensure that Taiwan can defend its democracy, freedom and open markets.
French Senator Alain Richard, head of the Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group and former defense minister, also led a delegation to Taiwan in early October, where he was decorated with a national medal by President Tsai Ing-wen and met with Premier Su at the Executive Yuan. The premier said frequent reciprocal visits and successive breakthroughs in EU-Taiwan ties prove once and again that Taiwan's commitment to universal values such as democracy and freedom is respected by the international community, and vital to the collective security and prosperity of the global community.