By Alex Wu
April 21, 2023
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock responds to questions from fellow parliamentarians at a federal government question and answer session in Berlin on April 19, 2023. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock responds to questions
from fellow parliamentarians at a federal government question and answer
session in Berlin on April 19, 2023. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said that
China’s communist regime is continuing to act more aggressively internationally
while increasing domestic oppression. Elements of her visit to China this week
were “more than shocking,” Baerbock said during parliamentary questions in Berlin on April 19.
Baerbock’s visit to China came just days before her meeting
with other foreign ministers of the G7 nations in the Japanese city of
Hiroshima. A communique from the ministers affirmed “the importance
of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” for the security of the
international community.
China Visit
When meeting with Baerbock in Beijing on April 15, the
Chinese communist regime’s top foreign affairs official, Wang Yi, asked
Germany to support the reunification of mainland China and Taiwan—as the
official claimed that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had previously
supported the “unification of East Germany and West Germany.”
However, Taiwan’s de-facto ambassador to Germany, Shieh
Jhy-wey, rejected the CCP’s use of German reunification as an
analogy for Taiwan. The principal China-policy adviser to former U.S. Secretary
of State, Mike Pompeo, also rubbished the idea: Miles Yu, now a senior fellow
at the Hudson Institute, indicated that East and West Germany made democratic
decisions to reunite, while the Chinese communist regime has repeatedly
threatened to use force against Taiwan.
The CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that when
Wang Yi, Director of the regime’s Foreign Affairs Office, met with Baerbock, he
stated that China had supported the reunification of Germany, and that he
“hopes and believes that Germany will also support China’s great cause of
peaceful reunification.” Wang also said: “Taiwan’s return to China is an
important part of the post-WWII international order.” Baerbock did not respond
directly to Wang’s remarks on Taiwan.
At a joint press
conference with the CCP’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang during her Beijing
visit, Baerbock said that “conflicts may only be resolved peacefully.”
She said that “unilaterally changing the status quo across
the Taiwan Strait—and, in particular, by force—would be, for us as Europeans,
unacceptable.” The German Foreign Minister called on all parties to “not
escalate the tension.”
Unification After The Fall of The CCP
Shieh Jhy-wey, Representative of the Republic of China’s
(Taiwan) Representative Office in Berlin, posted a statement on his Facebook account, pointing out the
fallacies in the CCP’s claims surrounding the reunification of East and West
Germany.
“In 1990, the unification of Germany was the free and
democratic West Germany unifying the authoritarian East Germany that was under
a one-party dictatorship,” Shieh wrote, which he said followed “the fall of the
Berlin Wall and the East German communist regime in 1989 … Let’s see when the
CCP regime collapses, and then talk about the reunification of mainland China
and Taiwan in the second year.”
Miles Yu , director of the China Center at the Hudson
Institute and previously the chief adviser on China policy for the U.S. State
Department under the Trump administration, pointed out the hypocrisy of Wang’s
claim. While China’s communist regime recognized both East and West Germany as
independent nations, it refuses to recognize Taiwan, and repeatedly states it
will annex the island by force, if necessary.
Yu wrote in a Twitter post: “China (the CCP) supported the coexistence
of East Germany and West Germany, giving both of them diplomatic recognition.”
However, “the reunification of Germany was democratically
approved by the peoples of the two countries, and neither side had threatened
the other by force.”
Shieh said that Baerbock has repeatedly and clearly told the
CCP regime one thing, namely that Germany—like the European Union, the United
States, Japan, and other G7 countries—cannot accept the use of any force by the
CCP to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Shieh pointed out that in addition to the traditional reason
for the free world to support Taiwan, which is based on the “common moral level
(upon which democracies support each other),” there’s now another reason
on the “common interest level.
“Fifty percent of the global trade and logistics freight
goes through the Taiwan Strait,” Shieh said. “Once the situation in the (Taiwan
Strait) changes, it will bring extremely serious consequences to every country
in the world. Such a world economic crisis will also hit China (the CCP) and
Germany.” Shieh said that Baerbock also mentioned another reason why Germany
cannot accept the CCP’s takeover of Taiwan: “Seventy percent of the world’s
semiconductors come from Taiwan.”
Shieh added a third reason for the democratic world to
support Taiwan. “Based on Taiwan’s key position in the Indo-Pacific strategic
alliance, the free world cannot allow Taiwan to fall into the hands of an
authoritarian China—no matter what!”
Zhong Yuan and Lin Yan contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
https://www.ntd.com/china-visit-more-than-shocking-says-german-foreign-minister_914645.html
Germany's Baerbock says parts of China trip 'shocking'
https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-baerbock-says-parts-of-china-trip-shocking/a-65375303
Germany’s foreign minister sharply criticizes China after
Beijing visit
Annalena Baerbock accuses Beijing of ‘aggressive’ posture in
foreign affairs, and ‘repressive’ policies at home
Ayhan Simsek |19.04.2023 - Update : 20.04.2023
BERLIN
German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock sharply criticized China on Wednesday, arguing that Beijing
is pursuing an “aggressive” foreign policy, and taking “repressive” actions at
home.
Addressing lawmakers in
the parliament, three days after her visit to Beijing, Baerbock said that while
China remains Germany’s biggest trading partner, it is also a competitor and a
systemic rival of the Western democracies.
“Unfortunately, my
impression was that the aspect of systemic rivalry is increasing more and more.
Not only because China is acting more offensive and aggressive abroad, but also
becoming more repressive at home,” she said.
She also said that some of
these were "really more than shocking” in some cases.
Baerbock disclosed that
during her two-day China visit, she did not use her mobile phones, and had to
keep them locked in a small suitcase, due to security concerns.
The minister underlined
that Germany will rebalance its relations with China, in line with the EU’s new
strategy toward this country, and reduce unilateral dependencies.
“We would like to
cooperate with China, wherever it is possible. But we don’t want to repeat past
mistakes. We don’t want to be naive and believe that change would come through
trade,” she said.
Baerbock said Germany has
no interest in economic decoupling but will look at the risks of unilateral
dependencies, and de-risk its relations with China.
“We do not want to
decouple from China. But as China is taking steps for its security, we will
also do the same, and minimize our risks,” she said.
Baerbock, whose Green
party is a junior partner in the coalition government, has long been an
outspoken critic of China and repeatedly criticized Beijing’s foreign and
domestic policies, and its treatment of Uyghurs.
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