Brussels [Belgium], November 9 : Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, in a speech at the European Parliament, called for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, warning that China's attempts to alter the status quo run counter to international consensus, Focus Taiwan reported.
China, meanwhile, has expressed firm opposition to Hsiao's speech, which also marks the first-ever address by a senior member of the Taiwanese Government in a foreign parliament.
Incidentally, the only European country that has official diplomatic relations with Taiwan is the Vatican, which is not a member of the European Union.
In her address to the group of international lawmakers, Hsiao said, "Peace in the Taiwan Strait is essential to global stability and economic continuity."
"We don't just want to survive -- we want democracies to thrive. We are not just defending what we have, but building what we want the future to look like, where free people and societies are more connected, more united, and more capable," Hsiao was quoted as saying.
Hsiao was speaking at the 2025 summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) held in Brussels on Saturday at the invitation of IPAC EU Co-Chairs Miriam Lexmann MEP (EPP) and Bernard Guetta MEP (Renew).
The Vice-President's speech formed the centrepiece of the fifth Summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, IPAC said.
Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun, who was also present, wrote in a Facebook post that Hsiao had spoken to lawmakers from more than 50 countries to explain "why Taiwan matters." Fan further said that Hsiao received a standing ovation.
Hsiao further in her speech noted that Taiwan's role as a thriving democracy and key player in global supply chains makes it indispensable to international stability and prosperity.
The Chinese Mission to the EU said on Saturday the European Parliament, despite China's strong opposition and solemn representations, allowed prominent "Taiwan independence" separatists such as Hsiao to enter the European Parliament building to attend the annual meeting and carry out "Taiwan independence" activities.
"This act seriously harms China's core interests, seriously violates the one-China principle, seriously interferes in China's internal affairs, and seriously undermines political mutual trust between China and the EU, according to the website of the mission," the Chinese publication Global Times said.
China once again solemnly urges the EU to abide by the one-China principle, stop supporting and endorsing "Taiwan independence" acts, stop sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, take concrete measures to eliminate the negative impact, and take practical actions to respect and support China's core interests and safeguard the overall situation of China-EU relations, said the Chinese mission to the EU as quoted by Global Times..
The 2025 IPAC global assembly in the Belgian capital marked the first time Taiwan participated as an official member. Taiwan gained membership during the alliance's 2024 summit in Taipei.
IPAC was the first to publicly condemn China for plotting to ram Hsiao's car during her visit to the Czech Republic when she was vice-president-elect in March 2024, Fan said, as reported in Focus Taiwan.