A high-ranking delegation of FDP MPs is currently visiting Taiwan - and is causing displeasure. Beijing is protesting against the trip as well as against the German government's planned China strategy: the ambassador in Berlin speaks of a Cold War mentality.
The Chinese Ambassador to Germany, Wu Ken, has warned German politicians against changing course in dealings with Taiwan. "But I would also like to advise individual politicians not to play with fire on the Taiwan question and not to test Chinese red lines," Wu said in an interview with the "Handelsblatt" when asked about a possible visit to Taiwan by a member of the federal government.
"The one-China principle also provided the political basis for establishing and expanding diplomatic relations between China and Germany," Wu said. All previous federal governments have committed themselves to this "political obligation". Part of the so-called One China policy is to recognize Beijing as the sole representative of China.
A high-ranking delegation from the FDP parliamentary group arrived in Taiwan in the morning. The MPs wanted to "send a sign of solidarity with Taiwan," said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chair of the Bundestag Defense Committee. The Chinese government protested the visit. "We urge the relevant parliamentarians to stop sending false signals to the Taiwanese authorities," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
China will take decisive action to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the spokesman stressed. China will also not allow the Asia-Pacific region to become an arena for geopolitical conflict. Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway territory. International tensions over Taiwan reached a new high last August when Beijing held large-scale military drills around the island in protest at a visit to Taipei by then-US Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing's ambassador in Berlin, Wu, also sharply criticized the German government's planned China strategy in an interview with the "Handelsblatt". The paper gives the impression "that it is primarily guided by ideology". "This smells suspiciously of a Cold War mentality to me," Wu said. He suspects that Berlin is completely following the US when it comes to China policy. As is well known, these were aimed at suppressing and containing China.
