Brussels/Taipei, 11/11/2021 – Learning more about Taiwanese fight against foreign interference, discussing potential investment agreement or the creation of a common Center against Disinformation. These are some of the outcomes of the first-ever visit to Taiwan, from which a European Parliament delegation returned last week. The mission was initiated by Pirate MEP Markéta Gregorová, who visited Taiwan together with six other MEPs.
The event was the result of continuous rapprochement with democratic Taiwan, which is under increasing Chinese pressure, and thus also the continuing reassessment of EU-China relations. Several specific cooperation plans emerged from the meeting.
Markéta Gregorová, MEP, member of Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation, comments:
“Our relations with democratic Taiwan deserve to be reconsidered and built independently of China. China has already made a statement that we have made a mistake, and if we do not correct it, EU-China relations will be irreparably damaged. That amuses me, because it is China that has been damaging these relations for some time now – and certainly it is not the EU, by actually building relations with other states. The journey was not a mistake, but on the contrary a fundamental success, which benefits we and Taiwan will experience long into the future.”
“Taiwan’s disinformation tactics are not particularly unknown for us. The difference is that we still only talk about it while Taiwan makes it happen. Taiwan’s political leaders, for example, are as transparent as possible towards the public in the fight against the pandemic – it is then difficult for the disinformation scene to distort their message. Trust-building is a key feature of their approach.”
“We have decided to invite selected experts in the field of cybersecurity and fight against disinformation. At the same time, we would like to establish a unique ‘hub’ in Taipei, a Common Center that will pool know-how in the fight against disinformation and strengthen effective cooperation across the EU, Taiwan and other partners.”
For further details and media inquiries please contact:
Nikolaus Riss for German and English nikolaus.riss@europarl.europa.eu +436769694000
Tomáš Polák for Czech and English tomas.polak@europarl.europa.eu +420728035059
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