Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger will travel to Taiwan on Monday. As announced by the Federal Ministry of Education, the FDP politician will visit the island republic for two days and meet government representatives as well as representatives from research, education, science and business in the capital Taipei.
Against the background of the tensions between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, the trip is symbolic. Visits by German MPs had recently caused resentment between Beijing and Berlin. According to the ministry, Federal Economics Minister Günter Rexrodt (FDP) was the last Federal Minister to visit Taiwan in 1997.
deepen cooperation
The ministry said the intention was to strengthen and deepen cooperation with Taiwan in science, research and education. Taiwan is a high-tech location and a world leader in the development and production of semiconductors.
China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any form of official diplomatic contact between Taiwan and other countries. Official relations with the People’s Republic cannot be maintained if they also exist with Taiwan. There are only a few countries worldwide that recognize the democratic island republic diplomatically. Germany is not one of them.
The Federal Foreign Office explained that close and good relations exist with Taiwan below the threshold of recognition under international law and that there is regular exchange on culture and research, for example. Mutual ministerial visits are also in line with the one-China policy that Germany and its European partners have been pursuing for a long time. In the fall, two Bundestag delegations visited the island republic. Beijing reacted angrily.
uh/qu (dpa, rtr)