Taiwan FM warns EU: China dependence threatens sovereignty — SkimNews
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- Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung warned the EU in Warsaw on Tuesday that dependence on Chinese suppliers is 'not merely an economic risk, it's a threat to European freedom and sovereignty itself,' calling Chinese authoritarian ideology 'fundamentally incompatible with Europe's democracy.'
- EU leaders will discuss China as the first item of a Brussels summit starting Thursday, as the bloc tries to cut its trade deficit with Beijing and reduce over-dependence in 'sensitive sectors.'
- Lin pitched Taiwan as a democratic, values-aligned alternative supplier, telling the Warsaw Security Forum that 'the Taiwan model has helped power innovation and prosperity in Silicon Valley, and it can do the same for Europe too.'
- The Chinese Embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to a request for comment; Beijing routinely denounces overseas visits by Taiwanese officials and refuses contact with President Lai Ching-te, who it labels a 'separatist.'
- Lin has visited Europe several times since taking his post more than two years ago, including multiple trips to Poland, despite Beijing's objections — a travel pattern that intensified after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- Poland, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, making Warsaw's hosting of Lin's speech a quiet diplomatic signal to Brussels ahead of the summit.
Why it matters: An EU summit opens Thursday with China as the first agenda item, and Brussels is actively working to shrink its trade deficit and de-risk sensitive sectors. Taiwan is positioning itself as a democratic alternative supplier just as that conversation begins, giving EU leaders a values-aligned hedge against Beijing's leverage in critical supply chains if de-risking policies advance.
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