Ukrainian MPs expected to visit Taipei – Taiwanese lawmaker
A Ukrainian parliamentary delegation will visit Taiwan at the end of October, a member of the self-governed island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party revealed on Thursday, amid growing discontent in Beijing over trips by foreign officials.
According to local media, Huang Shih-chieh made the announcement at the inauguration ceremony of the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliament Members’ Friendship Association earlier this week. Huang Shih-chieh said he expects Yulia Klimenko, the former Ukrainian deputy minister of economic development and trade, along with some other MPs, to take part in the 11th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD). The event will be held in Taipei on October 25–27.
Taking to Facebook to celebrate the launch of the association, Huang Shih-chieh expressed his gratitude to Ukrainian colleagues “who are not afraid of the Chinese threat and continue to expand bilateral relations.”
Mainland China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory, considers visits by high-ranking foreign officials to the island, as well as any change of status in Taipei’s relations to foreign nations, as an infringement of its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Klimenko, who was speaking at the ceremony via video link, thanked Taipei for supporting Kiev and, according to the local media reports, drew a comparison between her country, which is now battling against Russian troops, and Taiwan. “Ukraine is physically resisting attacks and fighting, while Taiwan is fighting politically,” she claimed as cited by the media.
The island’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Joanne Ou, when asked about the visit of the Ukrainian delegation, said that any announcements on the matter would be made in due course.
The last few months have seen a string of foreign officials provoking Beijing’s discontent by visiting Taiwan. In particular, a high-profile trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August caused tensions to flare between Beijing and Washington, prompting large-scale Chinese military drills near the island.
Taiwan, which officially refers to itself as the ‘Republic of China,’ has been self-governed since 1949, but has never been recognized as an independent state by the mainland.
