Taipei: Foreign Minister Joseph Wu stated last week during a visit to Europe that if European nations want Taiwanese investment in semiconductor production to continue, they should improve relations with Taiwan.

The largest contract chip manufacturer in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC), needs government approval for all international investments, including one for a potential factory in Germany.

Wu stated that TSMC's investments were not subject to conditions from the government and that it was up to the business to determine whether a project would be profitable.
Taiwan, according to Wu, would not obstruct European investments, but there was a "philosophical issue" that a nation seeking Taiwanese assistance needed to take a broader view of relations with Taiwan.

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He remarked, "I think that is something for us to think about." "Even though we are not being self-centered by forbidding TSMC from investing in other nations, we do hope that other nations who want to attract TSMC can also take into consideration the situation Taiwan is in."

Taiwan is a self-governing island that China claims as its own, and it has never renounced using force to annex it. Taiwan vehemently rejects China's claims to sovereignty and maintains that only the island's residents have the authority to determine its future.

The relationships between Taiwan and the major European nations will be far better than they were in the past, according to Wu, if they can adopt a positive outlook.

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Due to the delicate nature of his visit, the minister requested that his location remain a secret. Except for the Vatican, Taiwan has no formal diplomatic ties with any European nation, and China had forewarned Europe against forging such ties prior to Wu's visit.

Wu did go to the Czech Republic, and according to sources, he also went to Brussels, which is home to the NATO and EU headquarters.
Wu asserted that EU leaders have become more vocal in their calls for maintaining the status quo and for peace in the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating China and Taiwan. Wu also suggested that the EU should consider expanding its relations with Taiwan, perhaps through the signing of a bilateral investment agreement (BIA).

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The EU put Taiwan on its list of potential BIA partners in 2015, but since then, there have been no discussions with Taiwan about the matter.

Wu acknowledged that it was difficult and expressed his concern that a stalled EU-China investment agreement was holding it hostage.
We hope to be able to move forward with it and convince the EU leadership to view it favourably.