The People’s Republic of China on Tuesday protested a German delegation’s visit to Taiwan with Taiwanese officials stating that they will continue their relations with Germany.
According to a Deutsche Welle report, this is the second official visit to Taiwan by a German delegation in one month.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry called on German lawmakers to “immediately cease their interaction with the separatist pro-independence forces in Taiwan”.
The ministry also stressed that Taiwan “is an inalienable part of Chinese territory”, blaming tension in the region on Taiwan.
However, Taiwanese officials described Chinese protests as “meaningless”.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen stated that Taiwan will not be deterred by “aggressive threats”, and dismissed the impact of China’s threat.
Hung-Lu Chang, who chairs the Taiwan-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Association, stated that Taiwan is a sovereign state which is why the parliamentary exchange with other countries is perfectly justified. “They come to Taiwan because they’re in favor of us,” he added.
The delegation from Germany consisting of members of the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament) Human rights Committee reached Taipei on Sunday. The head of the delegation is Peter Heidt of the Free Democratic Party.
The delegation met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday, to talk about china’s threat to Taiwan.
“From Germany’s point of view, changes to the cross-strait status quo, if any, must be based on peaceful means. Also, these changes must be made after both sides have reached a consensus,” says head of delegation Peter Heidt.
The tension in the region arose after the unannounced visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
