Challenging Beijing’s One-China policy, a senior political leader of Taiwan said on Monday that the country’s freedom is a de facto reality in international affairs.
Speaking to the media, Kuan Bi-Ling, member of the Taiwanese Parliament, said here that Taiwan had protected its status as a free country despite the difficulties posed by Beijing’s One-China policy.
All-women team
“Taiwan has been a de facto and fully independent country from the very beginning. Some countries may not recognise Taiwan’s independence, but that has no impact on our sovereignty and freedom,” said Ms. Kuan, who is leading the first all-women MPs delegation from Taiwan to India.
The delegation arrived on Sunday and held a meeting with Indian members of the India-Taiwan Parliamentary Association consisting of MPs from both sides. The Indian delegation, led by Devi Prasad Tripathi, visited Taipei in August-September 2016 warming up ties.
“We are determined to build substantive economic ties with India and bridge the gap between our goals and realities in Taiwan-India ties,” Ms. Kuan said emphasising that Taipei wishes to invest in the flagship Indian programmes such as the “Make in India” and “Smart City” projects.
“Taiwanese investment in India is aimed at the manufacturing sector which helps in generating employment. We will increase our investment in the State of Gujarat,” she said.
Major investor
Ms. Kuan said Taiwan has become one of the major investors in India from the Asia-Pacific region and it wishes to uplift relations with India to the same level as its ties with Japan and the United States.
Taiwan’s new government under President Tsai ing-Wen has launched the “New Southbound policy” which aims to energise Taiwan’s ties with the ASEAN region, Australia, New Zealand and India.
Tourism and culture
Apart from increased bilateral trade, the “New Southbound Policy” is also aimed at energising people-to-people contact in the fields of tourism and culture.
“More Taiwanese tourists should be enabled to visit the Buddhist sites in India. Scholars, researchers should be supported so that we can appreciate bilateral issues better,” said Chen Mumin, Director of Center for Studies on South Asia and the Middle East who is also a part of the delegation.
The delegation is on a three-day visit and will be hosted at an event on Tuesday by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.
