Europe is seeing a flurry of Taiwanese diplomatic activity, with a visit to Brussels by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, as well as visits to Berlin by former President Tsai Ing-wen and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Puma Shen. These visits all took place as part of different events.
Hsiao’s visit was for the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). IPAC is a cross-parliamentary alliance of parliamentarians that focuses on relations with China, usually in a manner critical of Beijing’s record on human rights. IPAC events have often taken a large pride of place in Taiwan, since it is one of the rare spaces in which Taiwan can interact with international parliamentarians in an open manner. According to IPAC, her trip took place with the assistance of the European Union and the Belgian government.
Domestically, Hsiao’s speech was touted as a diplomatic breakthrough, in that this is the first time that a Taiwanese vice president has spoken at the European Parliament in Brussels.
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