Taiwan Appeals to Europe in Bid to Secure Friends Beyond Trump
Taiwan's Vice President Bi-Khim Hsiao in Brussels on Nov. 7.
Photographer: Virginia Mayo/AP PhotoAs anxiety over Donald Trump’s commitment to protecting Taiwan from Chinese military aggression lingers in Taipei, the island’s officials are fanning out across Europe to shore up friendships.
Hsiao Bi-khim last week became the first Taiwanese vice president since 2002 to visit a European country Taipei doesn’t have diplomatic ties with, excluding brief transits. The island’s former de facto US envoy — who speaks fluent English — spoke inside the bloc’s parliament in Brussels before an independent alliance of lawmakers who advocate for a harder line on China.