President Tsai receives Germany’s Bundestag delegation

2022/10/26

President Tsai Ing-wen received a delegation of German lawmakers from the Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid Oct. 24 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City, spotlighting the government’s commitment to promoting freedom, democracy and respect for human rights.
 
Led by Peter Heidt, the six-member group is visiting Taiwan Oct. 23-26.
 
Taiwan is sparing no effort to advocate for human rights, Tsai said, adding that the government has released three national reports on the implementation of related measures and codified the U.N.’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights into domestic law.
 
This is complemented by the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission under the Control Yuan in 2020, she added.
 
According to Tsai, Taiwan and Germany have a close relationship encompassing a broad range of areas, as evidenced by bilateral cooperation agreements inked over the past six years spanning energy transformation, financial oversight, technology and transitional justice. The two sides’ trade volume reached a record high of US$20 billion last year, she added.
 
Germany’s staunch support of Taiwan in the international arena is deeply appreciated, Tsai said, citing joint statements on cross-strait peace and stability issued by Group of Seven leaders and foreign ministers during Germany’s current turn as presiding state, as well as Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach’s backing of Taiwan’s international participation at this year’s World Health Assembly.
 
In response, Heidt acknowledged the increasing military threat faced by Taiwan and said Germany firmly opposes any change to the cross-strait status quo made via nonpeaceful means or without mutual consent. He looks forward to future scientific research and trade exchanges between Taiwan and Germany as the two sides deepen their partnership going forward.
 
Following the meeting, Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu held a banquet for the delegation.
 
In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Minister Wu & the @Bundestag delegation dived deep into the importance of #HumanRights at his banquet. As our hard-earned #Freedom & #Democracy must be nurtured & protected, we look forward to more cooperation between #Taiwan & #Germany to safeguard the values we hold dear.”


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)