On November 7, 2025, Taiwan’s Vice President Bi-Khim Hsiao delivered a rare and impassioned address to a select group of international lawmakers in Brussels, urging the European Union to bolster security and trade ties with the self-governing island. Her speech, delivered at a China-focused conference within the European Parliament building, underscored the rising tensions in East Asia and the pressing need for democratic solidarity amid mounting threats from Beijing.
“Peace in the Taiwan Strait is essential to global stability and economic continuity, and international opposition against unilateral changes to the status quo by force cannot be overstated,” Hsiao told the assembled lawmakers, according to the Associated Press. Her words resonated in the chamber, drawing a standing ovation from attendees representing countries as varied as Germany and Spain.
While Hsiao did not address the full European Parliament—reflecting the EU’s lack of formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan due to its adherence to the “One China” policy—her presence alone was enough to ruffle feathers in Beijing. The People’s Republic of China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has routinely warned that the island’s independence is a “dead end” and that reunification under Beijing’s rule is inevitable.
Despite these diplomatic constraints, Hsiao’s visit marked a significant moment in EU-Taiwan relations. The European Union, like most of the world, does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. Yet, as Reuters and BBC have reported, the EU and Taiwan share robust trade links and common democratic values. The bloc also opposes any use of military force by China to resolve its dispute with the island.
Hsiao seized the opportunity to call for deeper collaboration on trusted supply chains and artificial intelligence technologies, emphasizing that such partnerships would be mutually beneficial. She pointed to recent disruptions in global supply chains—most notably China’s throttling of rare earth exports to the EU earlier in 2025—as a wake-up call for Brussels. “We should forge a reliable technology ecosystem rooted in trust, transparency, and democratic values,” Hsiao urged, according to AP and Euronews.
The vice president also drew stark parallels between Taiwan’s experience with cyberattacks and undersea internet cable disruptions—attributed to Chinese interference—and the hybrid attacks European nations have faced since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Europe has defended freedom under fire, and Taiwan has built democracy under pressure,” she remarked, according to Reuters. The comparison was a pointed reminder of the interconnectedness of global security threats, whether they originate in the Taiwan Strait or on Europe’s eastern borders.
Security concerns surrounding Hsiao’s trip were palpable. The entire visit and her speech were kept under wraps until the last moment, following reports that Chinese agents had plotted to ram her car during a March 2024 visit to the Czech Republic, when she was still vice president-elect. Czech officials later confirmed that Chinese operatives had tracked Hsiao and intended to physically intimidate her. Hsiao responded defiantly at the time, stating, “The Chinese Communist Party’s unlawful activities will not intimidate me from voicing Taiwan’s interests in the international community.”
The conference itself was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China—a global coalition of lawmakers advocating for coordinated international action on China-related policy. Around 50 lawmakers from roughly two dozen countries attended the Brussels event, reflecting a growing appetite in Europe and beyond for a more unified stance on China’s assertive foreign policy.
Hsiao’s speech also came at a time of heightened military activity around Taiwan. According to The Associated Press, China has ramped up its encirclement of the island, conducting near-daily joint drills involving warships and fighter jets in Taiwan’s skies and waters. These maneuvers, coupled with economic pressure tactics such as the rare earth export restrictions, have fueled anxiety both in Taipei and among Western allies.
In response to these threats, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te announced in October 2025 that the government would accelerate the construction of its “T-Dome” air defense system and increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2030. The move, as reported by Reuters, is intended to shore up Taiwan’s military capabilities amid growing concerns over the possibility of conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Ben Bland, director of the Asia-Pacific program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, weighed in on the significance of the moment. In a recent analysis, he argued that while the EU’s lack of formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan limits certain avenues of cooperation, there is still ample room to deepen ties for mutual benefit—especially as the rivalry between the United States and China intensifies. “European nations cannot stop Beijing from squeezing Taiwan harder,” Bland wrote. “But they can help to preserve and even increase Taiwan’s global connections, and share lessons in how to stay resilient.”
Bland also warned that any conflict over Taiwan could have a far more devastating impact on Europe than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, given the island’s central role in the global semiconductor and electronics supply chains. Taiwan’s dominance in these industries makes it a linchpin of the world economy, and any disruption would have ripple effects far beyond East Asia.
The historical context of the China-Taiwan divide remains a critical backdrop to these developments. The two sides split in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists. Since then, Taiwan has developed into a vibrant democracy, even as Beijing has never relinquished its claim to the island.
For European lawmakers, Hsiao’s visit served as both a warning and a call to action. The parallels between Taiwan’s predicament and Europe’s own recent security challenges were difficult to ignore. As the world becomes more fragmented and authoritarian regimes grow bolder, the need for democracies to stand together has never felt more urgent.
Hsiao captured this sentiment succinctly in her speech: “In an era marked by increasing fragmentation, volatility and rising authoritarianism, this gathering affirms something vital— that democracies, even when far apart, are not alone.”
As the conference concluded, the message from Brussels was clear: while Taiwan may face daunting challenges, its allies in Europe are listening—and, perhaps, preparing to do more.
