Premier Su Tseng-chang on Monday welcomed a high-level delegation of Free Democratic Party (FDP) lawmakers from the German Bundestag's Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid committees. The premier said that Taiwan stands on the front line of freedom and democracy and will never back down, despite unrelenting aerial and naval military harassment from authoritarian China. The delegation's visit demonstrates that it is only by uniting together that liberal democracies will be able to face down the threat of authoritarianism and unbridled military expansionism.
Regarding human rights, although Taiwan is not a U.N. member state, it has nevertheless conscientiously implemented two U.N. covenants on human rights, and the nation's hard work and achievements in this regard have gained recognition from many countries around the world. The premier hopes that Taiwan and Germany will continue to work together on human rights issues and inspire mutual encouragement and improvement. The premier also thanked German lawmakers for last year passing a resolution in support of Taiwan's participation in World Health Assembly meetings as an observer, as well as in other international activities. Premier Su said he hopes that during the course of their trip, members of the delegation will witness the determination of Taiwan's 23 million people to uphold freedom and democracy, and see for themselves the nation's achievements in respect to pandemic prevention and its robust economic growth. The premier ended his remarks by expressing hope that members of the delegation would continue to support Taiwan on their return to Germany, whether on the floor of the Bundestag or in other contexts.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the Bundestag Defence Committee, said in her remarks that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a wake-up call for people living in democracies who want to preserve peace and freedom, and it tells us that we have to change a lot of things. She said that Germany has to prepare its army and realign its stance including on economic questions, and look for the right path to continue living in freedom and democracy. For the German delegation, this visit to Taiwan is important for showing the deep relationship between our democracies in a world that is not as peaceful as we all would like.
Johannes Vogel, deputy chair of the FDP, then delivered remarks, expressing respect and admiration at how Taiwan rose from an authoritarian society to a vital and stable democracy with peaceful transfer of power back and forth, a development that is rare in the world. The systemic rivalries we see around the globe in this 21st century, particularly the roots of the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, are complex, he said. But one thing is for certain—every attempt to change the status quo by force or threatening to do it by force is unacceptable from an international standpoint and Germany's standpoint, and Germany expresses its solidarity with Taiwan when it comes to these threats.