Taiwan

Taiwan is a free and sovereign nation of around 23 million people (2024) in East Asia — a full democracy with free elections, a vibrant civil society and a world-leading technology industry that produces most of the world's most advanced semiconductors. Since its first direct presidential election in 1996, power has changed hands peacefully between parties, making Taiwan one of the most solid democracies in Asia.

Taiwan has never been governed by the People's Republic of China, yet it lives under constant threat from Beijing: military drills around the island, coercion of its partners and a systematic campaign to exclude it from international organisations. The European Union still has no diplomatic relations with Taipei, cooperating only through its trade office, even as the European Parliament calls for ever closer ties.

Taiwan embodies a conviction the European Democrats hold firm: that a people's right to self-determination is not negotiable. The European Democrats support Taiwan's full independence and its recognition as a sovereign state — and call on Europe to end its ambiguity and stand openly with the Taiwanese people.