A German Bundestag delegation, the Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Friendship Group, is on a nine-day visit to Taiwan, prompting sharp criticism from Beijing. The cross-party group includes Till Steffen (Greens), Klaus-Peter Willsch and Markus Reichel (CDU), Rainer Kraft (AfD), and Mandy Eissing (Left Party).

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated that Beijing opposes any official exchanges between its diplomatic partners and Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province. China advocates “peaceful reunification” but has not ruled out military force.

Delegation leader Steffen argued that Germany must reduce economic dependence on China. “It is fine to do business with Beijing, but we should not become dependent on China,” he said. A joint research project with Taiwan on future batteries is underway.

Kraft from AfD noted that before German reunification, China maintained diplomatic ties with both West and East Germany. He emphasized Taiwan's global leadership in semiconductors: “Germany must not miss the opportunity to remain economically strong.” TSMC is building a €10 billion factory in Saxony.

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te welcomed the delegation, praising the TSMC project as a milestone that strengthens industrial cooperation and global supply chains. He thanked Germany for supporting Taiwan's international participation.

Steffen invoked Chancellor Merz's principle: “We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we never have to,” applying it to Taiwan. “The greatest threat to Taiwan is that other countries look the other way. We will not do that,” he vowed.

Source: www.dw.com