China’s “unwarranted military exercises” around Taiwan and “attempts to distort history” have been sharply rebuked by MEPs.
The European Parliament has called on China to immediately cease its “continued military operations,” “economic coercion” and “hostile disinformation” campaign against Taiwan, the self-ruling island that Beijing claims to be a breakaway province.
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have been high since Taiwan elected William Lai as its new president in May. Lai has offered to resume dialogue with China but insisted Taiwan would never be subordinate to its neighbour. In reaction, Beijing has ramped up its belligerent rhetoric and military drills near Taiwan, most recently this month.
China is “changing the balance of power in the Indo-Pacfiic,” MEPs warn in their joint resolution, rejecting “any unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”
The text, approved on Thursday afternoon with 432 votes in favour and 60 against, is entirely symbolic but represents a strongly-worded rebuke to Chinese attempts to encroach upon Taipei’s democratic system and increase its isolation on the global stage.
Lawmakers harshly criticised Beijing’s “constant distortion” of the UN Resolution 2758, which recognised the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations” and removed the seat assigned to the Republic of China (RoC), then ruled by the authoritarian Chiang Kai-shek.
China argues the UN text solidifies the “One China” principle and therefore prevents Taiwan from participating in international bodies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), even as an observer.
Taipei contests this interpretation, saying the UN resolution only speaks about the “representatives of Chiang Kai-shek,” without involving the RoC, and does not provide a legal basis for Beijing’s long-held territorial ambitions.
The Parliament “underlines that UN Resolution 2758 takes no position on Taiwan” and “refutes the PRC’s attempts to distort history and international rules,” MEPs say.
Lawmakers also condemn President Xi Jinping for refusing to renounce the use of force to bring the island under Beijing’s rule, something that Xi has described as a “reunification” mission. However, MEPs note, the RoC was never part of the PRC.
Throughout the resolution, lawmakers make the case for strengthening EU-Taiwan relations, which have developed in reaction to China’s “no limits partnership” with Russia and the bloc’s growing need for semiconductors, of which Taiwan is a leading supplier.
Still, contacts are maintained on an informal basis, as the EU and its member states do not maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei. The European Commission has ignored the Parliament’s pleas, repeated in Tuesday’s resolution, to sign a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan out of fear of unleashing Beijing’s fury.
