German Delegation To Visit Taiwan On Sunday For 1st Time Since Pandemic - Taiwanese Gov't

German Delegation to Visit Taiwan on Sunday for 1st Time Since Pandemic - Taiwanese Gov't

A German parliamentary delegation will arrive in Taiwan on October 2 for the first time since 2019, when the coronavirus pandemic began, the island's foreign ministry said on Thursday

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2022) A German parliamentary delegation will arrive in Taiwan on October 2 for the first time since 2019, when the coronavirus pandemic began, the island's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The group, headed by Klaus-Peter Willsch, Chairman of the Germany-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, will include seven lawmakers and is expected to remain in Taiwan until October 6.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its sincere greetings (to the German delegation)," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the German lawmakers will meet with high-ranking Taiwanese officials and discuss aspects of bilateral cooperation.

The German delegation's trip is particularly important in the light of tensions around Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit in early August, the statement read.

China condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan. Several countries have sent their delegations to the island since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan a territory with its own elected government maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts by foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.