(Observer Network News)
A German citizen recently submitted a petition to the Bundestag for the so-called "establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan ". After the intervention of Green Party members, the German House of Representatives held a hearing on this on the 9th. Officials from the German Foreign Ministry reiterated that "One China" is the cornerstone of bilateral relations, and if it is shaken, it will greatly harm Germany's interests.
According to the official website of the German Bundestag, this "petition" was initiated by Michele Kreuzberg, a 71-year-old citizen of the Rostock region. With 50,000 signatures reached in nearly a month, the House held a hearing to discuss whether to put the petition to a vote.
Kreuzberg claimed that he grew up in East Germany, so he "knew that the Communist Party was a dictatorship" and attacked the Chinese government for "violating human rights" and was unwilling to see Taiwan "annexed" by mainland China.
He said that he was deeply impressed by Taiwan as a "stable democratic country", but the German government ignored Taiwan "which has been developing on the road of democracy since 1987." Called for "the establishment of comprehensive 'diplomatic' relations" with Taiwan .
The hearing scene became a farce for "Taiwan independence" elements. "Taiwan representative in Germany" Hsieh Chi-wei led a delegation to watch and cheer that day. "Civil representative" Fu Peifen even vigorously promoted the concept of Taiwan independence, claiming that "China cannot represent Taiwan " and "the 'One China' policy is outdated" and asked Western countries to unite, "China will be afraid."
Taiwan’s “civilian representatives” Fu Peifen and Kreuzberg. Photo from: Taiwan “Central News Agency”. The same below as
. However, Petra Sigmund, Director of the Asia-Pacific Department of the German Foreign Ministry who attended the hearing, reiterated his support for “one China”. in principle. She said that China is Germany's all-round strategic partner. Shaking the cornerstone of bilateral relations and no longer insisting that "there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China" will greatly harm Germany's national interests.
She also said that the unofficial level of cooperation between Germany and Taiwan is already very rich and will continue to develop on this basis.
German media revealed that the petition was initially rejected by the petition committee, and the German Foreign Ministry requested that the content of the petition not be made public. However, due to interference from Green Party members, the committee reopened the petition in September this year.
Green Party MP Cem Özdemir said that the German government should at least more actively seek to expand cooperation with Taiwan without breaking through the "one-China" policy. Including when Germany takes over the rotating EU chairmanship in 2020, it should be mentioned that "we and Taiwan are a community of values".
Siegmund, Director of the Asia-Pacific Department of the German Foreign Ministry, reiterated support for "One China" at the hearing.
Siegmund responded that any attempt to touch "one China" will trigger a strong backlash from China, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will "carefully consider these" recommends ", especially to expand unofficial cooperation with Taiwan .
The committee did not decide whether to submit the proposal to the plenary session of the Federal Parliament that day. German media generally believe that this petition will not change Germany's foreign policy.
" Global Times " interviewed Berlin scholar on China issues Junckerdorf said that this so-called debate was completely a farce directed and performed by individual German individuals, parliamentarians and "Taiwan independence" representatives, and it had no influence at all. Sino-German relations.
Source: Observer.com
