COMMON GROUND:
Taiwan and Europe are oceans apart, but they share the same core values of democracy, rule of law and freedom, deputy foreign minister Francois Wu said

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter

Taiwan is a like-minded democratic ally of the EU in the Indo-Pacific region, and hopefully the Taiwan-EU relationship, which is based on trustworthy friendship and common values, could continue to thrive, European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) head Lutz Gullner said on Saturday evening.

In celebration of Europe Day on May 9, the EETO collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation (TPF) for the 2025 Europe Day Series concerts — a celebration of the growing cultural and musical exchange between Europe and Taiwan.

Gullner made the remark at a news conference before a EuropeDay concert at the National Concert Hall.

Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“Europe Day, for us, is an important moment to celebrate peace and cooperation, symbolizing the EU and its member states’ commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” he said.

Taiwan, as a successful example of democracy, also shares common values with Europe, and although the two countries are geographically distant, mutual exchanges have grown more frequent and mutual understanding has deepened in recent years, Gullner said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a news release yesterday said that Gullner also mentioned that given the current world situation, with intensified instability and division, increasingly competitive geopolitics and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, it is more crucial than ever that the EU uphold the values of peace, rule-of-law and cooperation.

Gullner said they do not wish to see a world where “might is right,” and that the office is dedicated to defending the belief that “order is based on rule-of-law,” the ministry cited him as saying.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中), who also attended the Europe Day Series concert, said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration, which laid the foundation for Europe’s peace, solidarity and cooperation, and is inspirational to the world.

Although Taiwan and Europe are oceans apart, they share the core values of democracy, freedom and rule of law, he said, adding that over the years, Taiwan and Europe’s exchanges in trade, investment, education, innovation, culture and many other aspects have increased, and their friendship has deepened.

NSO conductor Lu Shao-chia (呂紹嘉) and pianist Yen Chun-chieh (嚴俊傑) performed at the Saturday concert, the EETO said, adding that the TPF invited Andreas Herrmann, director of the Munich Philharmonic Choir in Germany, to perform alongside them in the concert on Wednesday.

In other news, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Daniel Tang (唐殿文) has been named the country’s top envoy to Ireland.

The Executive Yuan earlier this month said that Tang is to fill the vacancy left by his predecessor, Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆), whose resignation has been approved and was made public by the Presidential Office on Tuesday last week.

Yang had served as Taiwan’s representative to the European country since 2018.

Before serving as the ministry’s chief secretary, Tang was the top envoy to South Korea and ambassador to the Marshall Islands.

The Executive Yuan also announced that Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Secretary-General Fan Chen-kuo (范振國) is to become the new representative to Japan’s Yokohama city. The association is the ministry’s top unit in charge of Japanese affairs.

The Yokohama office is one of the five branches of Taiwan’s representative offices in Japan. The other four branch offices are in Osaka, Fukuoka, Naha and Sapporo.

Additional reporting by CNA