In a decision that places Foreign Policy on a higher level than Healthcare Policy and apparently more important to the Berlaymont than saving European lives, the European Commission has bottled its support for Taiwan to be granted observer status at the WHO this week. Taiwan, with the strong support of the United States, had lobbied…
The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister issued the following statement after Thursday’s debate with Josep Borrell on disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. “This afternoon, the Foreign Affairs Committee held an important debate with EU High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell on the latest report by the European…
MEPs and High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell will discuss the latest report by the European External Action Service about disinformation on COVID-19, tomorrow 30 April. The aim of the report published by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on 24 April, is to provide a snapshot overview of the current trends and insights into disinformation…
After her election victory on 11 January, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said in an interview: “We are an independent country already and we call ourselves the Republic of China (Taiwan).” She also said China needs to show Taiwan respect. However, four days later on 15 January, the permanent mission of the People’s Republic of China to the…
The European Commission published today the latest report on protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in third countries. While developments have taken place since the publication of the previous report, concerns persist and a number of areas for improvement and action remain to be addressed. Intellectual property rights infringements worldwide cost European firms…
Ilham Tohti’s daughter accepted the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Wednesday on behalf of her jailed father. Tohti, a Uyghur scholar fighting for the rights of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority, has been in prison since 2014 on separatism-related charges. “Ilham Tohti, with his activism, managed to give a voice to the Uyghurs….
Last night (16th October) a reception was held at the European Parliament to celebrate the inauguration of the Formosa Club – an international body to co-ordinate and strengthen the many parliamentary friendship organisations that promote relations with Taiwan. The name of the Club comes from the name given by Portuguese traders to the island of…
Rights organisations have made a fresh and damning condemnation of China’s human rights record. This comes after what is said to be a big upswing in persecution of religious minorities in the country. Speaking in the European Parliament in Brussels, Anna Hill, of Open Doors International, said that China had risen to number 27 on…
This July, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) transited through New York, an icon of diversity and freedom and home to the United Nations, as a prelude to her state visit to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Caribbean, writes Dr. Jaushieh Joseph Wu. While meeting with the Permanent Representatives to the UN…
Taiwan has criticized Spain for extraditing Taiwanese nationals to China, saying the move puts them at risk of torture or the death penalty. On June 6, Spain took the decision to extradite 94 Taiwan nationals to the PRC but the case dates back to December 2016, when a huge telecom scam targeting Chinese citizens was…
