Taiwan’s streets pulse with the chaotic energy of a free society – debates rage in parliament, newspapers print unvarnished truths, and citizens elect leaders without fear of disappearance. Meanwhile, in Brussels, bureaucrats cling to a diplomatic relic crafted half a century ago, based on a flawed interpretation of a UN Resolution (2758), bowing to Beijing’s demands while Taiwan’s democracy outshines the authoritarian rot across the Strait. The European Union’s “One China” policy isn’t just outdated; it’s an active surrender to moral corruption, a Faustian bargain that trades principle for economic crumbs.
The Lie of “One China” and the Reality of Taiwanese Sovereignty
The EU claims to recognise the People’s Republic of China as China’s sole government while insisting Taiwan’s status remains “undecided.” This contradiction collapses under scrutiny. Taiwan governs itself, defends its borders, and operates as a sovereign state in all but name. Its 23 million people have built a society where dissent isn’t a crime, courts aren’t puppets, and power changes hands through ballots – not bullets. To claim Taiwan is “part of China” is to endorse a fiction as absurd as insisting Canada belongs to the British Crown because Queen Elizabeth once graced its currency.
China’s threats to invade Taiwan – amplified by daily military drills and cyberattacks – expose the fragility of Beijing’s claims. A regime confident in its legitimacy doesn’t need to terrorise 23 million people into submission. The EU’s refusal to acknowledge this reality isn’t neutrality; it’s complicity. By parroting Beijing’s talking points, Europe legitimises the imprisoning of millions of Uyghurs, crushes Hong Kong’s freedoms, and silences critics with torture.
Europe’s Hypocrisy: Praising Democracy While Funding Its Destruction
Brussels spends billions promoting democracy worldwide, to wit the language of the EU over Ukraine, yet undermines Taiwan – a beacon of liberty in Asia – through a cowardly China policy. The EU is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting €77 billion in 2023. European companies profit from Taiwan’s semiconductor dominance while relying on Chinese factories built with EU investment. This isn’t diplomacy; it’s schizophrenic greed.
Lithuania’s 2021 decision to allow a “Taiwanese Representative Office” in Vilnius – met with a David/Goliath Chinese economic retaliation – reveals the cost of courage. While Lithuanian businesses faced Beijing’s wrath, the EU offered tepid support, afraid to lose access to China’s market. The message to dictators is clear: Europe’s values have a price tag.
The Semiconductor Ultimatum: Taiwan Holds Europe’s Future Hostage
TSMC, Taiwan’s chip giant, produces over 60% of the world’s semiconductors. Every European car, phone, and weapon system depends on these components. If China blockades Taiwan, EU economies would sputter into paralysis within weeks. TSMC is now breaking earth on plants in Germany and Lithuania, and yet Brussels hesitates to formalise ties with Taipei, fearing Chinese tariffs on BMWs and Bordeaux wines. This is not strategy. It’s myopia costing us our integrity.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has pushed a “New Southbound Policy” to reduce reliance on China, offering Europe partnerships in green tech and AI. The EU’s response? A nonbinding parliamentary resolution urging “closer cooperation”. Meanwhile, China’s Xi Jinping invests $150 billion annually in military upgrades, preparing to strangle Taiwan – and Europe’s tech (and our ReArm miltech!) lifeline – in a conflict.
The EU’s Choice: Partners in Freedom or Vassals to Tyranny
Europe faces a reckoning. Will it stand with democracies, or kneel to autocrats? The “One China” policy, drafted in 1975 when Mao’s Cultural Revolution still raged, assumes Taiwan’s eventual absorption into the PRC. But Taiwan has evolved into everything China is not: free, innovative, unbullying, and unbroken by fear. To insist Taiwan is “Chinese” insults the Taiwanese people’s right to self-determination – a right Europe claims to champion.
The European Parliament’s 2024 resolution condemning China’s “distortion of history” marked a shift. For the first time, EU legislators openly rejected Beijing’s narrative, calling Taiwan a “like-minded partner”. And Resolutions are lovely. But resolutions without action are empty gestures. Until the EU opens formal diplomatic channels with Taiwan, funds joint defence projects, and sanctions Chinese aggression, its words ring hollow. Until the EU formally re-invigorates the correct interpretation of Un Resolution 2758, we are not acting with integrity but may well be characterised craven actors.
The Clock is Ticking
Taiwan’s democracy won’t collapse. Its people have resisted decades of threats, propaganda, and isolation. The real question is whether Europe will awaken before China’s tanks roll into Taipei. The EU’s “One China” policy isn’t just obsolete – it’s a moral failure, a betrayal of the liberal values Europe claims to defend. Every euro traded with China, every silent nod to Beijing’s lies, funds the noose tightening around Taiwan’s neck.
The choice is stark: side with a vibrant democracy, or cower before a regime that crushes dissent and hungers for conquest. Europe’s legacy hinges on this decision. Will it be remembered as a champion of freedom, or a collaborator in demagoguery?
By: Brian Iselin, Associate Editor
