On Friday, a spokeswoman said that Germany’s education minister would visit Taiwan next week.
China protested Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s liberal Free Democrats (FDP) delegation’s January visit to Taiwan.
The spokeswoman stated FDP Bettina Stark-Watzinger would arrive early next week.
A person familiar with the visit claimed Stark-Watzinger would not encounter President Tsai Ing-wen on the German government’s orders to avoid upsetting China.
The source emphasized this was a working visit to discuss Stark-portfolio, Watzinger’s not a statement of support from Germany to Taiwan.
Scholz restated his support for Beijing’s “one China” policy before a Saturday trip to Japan. Berlin maintains lower-level Taiwan relations.
Tsai meets most visiting foreign leaders and parliamentarians.
Germany is drafting a new China policy to minimize its dependency on Asia’s economic behemoth, a key export market for German goods under previous chancellor Angela Merkel.
TSMC (2330. TW) also contemplates investments in Europe and Germany.
China has increased military, political, and economic pressure to claim democratic Taiwan.
The highest-level U.S. visit to Taiwan in 25 years by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized by China last year as a danger to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Merkel often visited China, Germany’s biggest trading partner in 2016, with large corporate delegations.
Merkel told Reuters she may have been naïve about Chinese collaboration before leaving office in 2021.
Comment Template