"EU Parliament Delegation to Visit Taiwan Next Week... Meetings with Senior Officials"

(Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The European Union (EU) parliamentary delegation is reportedly set to visit Taiwan early next week, prompting strong opposition from China.

On the 27th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing multiple sources, reported that the EU parliamentary delegation plans to visit Taiwan early next week to meet with senior Taiwanese officials.

The EU parliamentary delegation is led by French National Assembly member and China hawk Raphael Glucksmann. Glucksmann was included on China's sanctions list in March.

This visit by the EU parliamentary delegation comes just three weeks after four members, including Alain Richard, chairman of the French Senate Taiwan Exchange and Research Committee, visited Taiwan and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

SCMP stated, "The EU parliamentary delegation's visit to Taiwan occurs at a time of heightened cross-strait tensions and delicate EU-China relations," adding, "EU parliamentary staff pledged secrecy over the trip citing security risks, and even received emails requesting silence about the visit until the members arrived in Taiwan."

China strongly opposed the EU parliamentary delegation's plan to visit Taiwan. A spokesperson for the Chinese mission to the EU condemned the visit, saying, "EU parliamentarians visiting Taiwan violates the EU's commitment to uphold the 'One China' principle."

The spokesperson continued, "The One China principle is the political foundation of China-EU diplomatic relations and bilateral development," emphasizing, "To comply with the One China principle, no official exchanges in any form with Taiwan should take place."

Earlier, China harshly criticized the EU Parliament after it adopted a resolution to begin work on an investment agreement with Taiwan and renamed the EU's 'Taipei Representative Office' in Taiwan to the 'Taiwan Representative Office.'

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is scheduled to attend the 'Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC)' meeting in Rome, Italy, on the 29th and plans to visit European countries including the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

China has repeatedly responded to Taiwan-related issues with large-scale aerial military demonstrations aimed at Taiwan.

SCMP noted, "China's increasingly aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait are raising concerns about regional military conflict in Europe," adding, "In European political circles, Taiwan is making headlines in China-related news, surpassing Hong Kong and Xinjiang."