Taiwan’s vice-president asks for support in rare Brussels speech

TAIWANESE Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim called for greater support and international recognition for the self-ruled island in rare remarks to a European Parliament group in Brussels on Friday.

“Taiwan matters not because we are a victim of coercion. But because the integrity of the international system and global prosperity depend upon a free Taiwan,” Hsiao told the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China’s Annual Summit. 

China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed repeatedly to bring the island of 23 million people back under its control someday, by force if necessary. Beijing has campaigned to isolate Taiwan on the global stage, convincing other nations to sever formal relations with the island. BLOOMBERG