Wednesday, November 30, 2022

The New Italian Government Signals a Closer Relationship with Taiwan

Good news! The new Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni is making history!

"... During the electoral campaign, Meloni expressed surprisingly firm support for Taiwan in the face of the PRC’s coercive actions. This position is not coincidental, and has to be considered as a part of a broader strategy of reassurance that Meloni is conducting regarding her government’s foreign policy. The new Italian government is adopting a firmer stance vis-à-vis the PRC, and shedding renewed light on the importance of European ties with Taipei.
Last July, Giorgia Meloni met with Andrea Sing-ying Lee (李新穎), head of the Taiwan representative office in Rome, and addressed him as “the ambassador of Taiwan.” During the meeting, Meloni promised both to promote Italy-Taiwan relations and to play a positive role in advancing wider EU-Taiwan ties in the event of her appointment as prime minister. Then, in a September interview with Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA)—the first one by an Italian candidate in decades—Meloni expressed support for Taiwan. She defined the island as “a strategic commercial partner for Italy and Europe,” and firmly condemned “together with all the democracies in the world” the PRC military activities in the Taiwan Strait in August. ..."

The New Italian Government Signals a Closer Relationship with Taiwan | Global Taiwan Institute

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