Press Release
Legislative Yuan
January 11, 2023
Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun met a Spanish parliamentary delegation led by Deputy Rosa Romero Sánchez, President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies Health and Consumer Commission
You Si-kun: Taiwan and Spain enjoy 400 years of historical bonds and will continue to deepen cooperation in line with the universal values of freedom and democracy
Accompanied by Legislators Wu I-ding, Chiu Tai-yuan, and Chen I-hsin; Taiwan People’s Party Whip Chiu Chen-yuan; Legislator Wang Wan-yu; Secretary General Lin Jih-jia; Consultant Chou Ya-shu; and Director Kung Ping-chieh; Director General Euba of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; and Deputy Foreign Minister Tsai Ming-yen, President You welcomed a Spanish parliamentary delegation led by Deputy Rosa Romero Sánchez, President of the Health and Consumer Commission of the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
President You began by extending a sincere welcome to the delegation on behalf of the Legislative Yuan. While geographically distant, he said, Taiwan and Spain have deep historical ties. From 1626 to 1642, the Spanish ruled northern Taiwan, building the City of Santo Domingo, which today is known as the “Red-Haired City” in Tamsui. During the 16 years of Spanish rule of northern Taiwan, there were close connections between the Spanish and local people through missionary work, language, and intermarriage. Anthropologists and geneticists have determined that some Taiwanese indeed have Spanish ancestry. As such, the gathering was like one of family.
President You stated that on October 6 last year, the Congress of Deputies proposed a motion of friendship with Taiwan and voted to adopt two statements: The Spanish Congress of Deputies reaffirmed that the relationship between China and Taiwan should be based on constructive dialogue without oppression and in line with public opinion. Second, the Spanish Congress of Deputies emphasizes opposition to any unilateral action that would disrupt the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. On behalf of Taiwan’s legislature, he expressed his respects to the delegation members.
President You further stated that both Taiwan and Spain experienced similar authoritarian histories. In 1978, Spain’s dictatorship came to an end; in 1986, Taiwan broke the ban on the formation of new parties, and the following year, martial law was lifted and Taiwan embarked on its path of democratic transformation, gradually establishing what today is a full-fledged democracy. Because the two countries have had similar destinies and both cherish the democratic systems and pluralistic civil societies that we have today, President You said he believed that future exchanges between Taiwan and Spain would be deeper and more extensive.
President You continued by saying that Taiwan and Spain share the universal values of democracy and freedom. In stark contrast to Taiwan, China is an authoritarian country. Despite its economic rise, China cannot shake off the influence of traditional political thinking and the mindset that “those who affront China must pay even though a thousand miles away.” It engages in repression at home and expansionism abroad and uses wolf-warrior diplomacy. China has instigated Indo-Pacific tension and poses a severe threat to global peace. Recently, China has claimed that it enjoys sovereignty over Taiwan and deliberately misquotes the Cairo Declaration and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 to regard Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory. President You stressed that the Cairo Declaration was merely a letter of intent between the United States and China during WWII. The San Francisco Peace Treaty signed by 49 countries and entered into force on April 28, 1952, was the only international legal framework by which to determine Taiwan’s status.
President You further stated that according to Article 2 of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan and Penghu, but also that the document makes no mention of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Accordingly, although the Cairo Declaration was dispatched, the San Francisco Peace Treaty is the only legal basis for determining Taiwan’s sovereignty. It is thus deceitful for China to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. In the years since, and in accordance with the principle of self-determination as outlined in the United Nations Charter, Taiwan has become a sovereign, independent country by holding comprehensive parliamentary elections and direct presidential elections and experiencing three transfers of political power between parties. According to international law, Taiwan and Penghu are not subject to China; Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other. It is an ironclad fact that Taiwan is not a part of China. UNGA Resolution 2758 addressed the representation of China in the United Nations without mentioning Taiwan. It did not authorize the People’s Republic of China to represent Taiwan in the UN system, nor does it claim that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China.
President You once again thanked Spain for its support of Taiwan. Based on the shared universal values of freedom and democracy and deep historical bonds, he said he hoped the two countries would engage in more cooperation and exchanges and as a result make greater contributions to international peace and stability.
In her remarks, President Sánchez expressed thanks on behalf of the entire delegation to President You and the Legislative Yuan for the warm welcome. She also thanked the ROC (Taiwan) government for having extended the invitation to visit. She then spoke about two resolutions the Spanish Parliament had recently adopted, which stressed a hope that Taiwan would settle issues with China through cordial and constructive dialogue. Spain and Taiwan have nearly 400 years of historical bonds, and, she said she hopes that Taiwan will share its experiences with Spain and other nations and that the two countries would find more opportunities to cooperate and promote bilateral trade as they shared the values of freedom and democracy.
In remarks that followed, Legislator Wu I-ding welcomed the Spanish guests, saying that she believed Taiwan and Spain have many similarities. For example, the people of both nations are known for their warm hospitality. She believed that cross-strait issues ought to be decided through cordial and constructive exchanges, which will benefit people around the world. She expressed concern about the energy sector, saying that as Taiwan and Spain both enjoy a lot of sunshine, which can be beneficial to solar power development. She hoped that Taiwan and Spain would have greater interactions on renewable energy and energy policy.
Legislator Chiu Tai-yuan then spoke, sharing that he is both a member of the Committee on Environment and Health in the Legislative Yuan as well as a physician. He thanked the Spanish Medical Colleges Association for its support of Taiwan’s medical community internationally. The Taiwan Medical Association is an influential group that makes contributions to global health. Last year, the World Medical Association passed a resolution in support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization and its international conferences. He wanted to show his appreciation to the Spanish Medical Colleges Association for its assistance and said he looked forward to more exchanges in the future.
Legislator Chen I-hsin then took the stage, welcoming the delegation on behalf of the Kuomintang party caucus and KMT Chairman Eric Chu and hoped that in the future, the delegation members would visit KMT headquarters. Most of the delegates are attached to opposition parties. In Taiwan, the KMT is Taiwan’s largest opposition party. It is presently exercising its role regarding legislative oversight and working to win back power. The KMT won three-quarters of the seats being contested in last year’s locale elections, and he said he believes that his party and the delegates could share their experiences. He mentioned the popularity of Spanish agricultural products in Taiwan, called for further cooperation, and said he hoped to visit Spain.
Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan welcomed the delegation on behalf of the Taiwan People’s Party and its chairman, Ko Wen-je. When he served as the Secretary General of World Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, Chiu had visited Spain and was impressed by the culture of Barcelona. He believed that in addition to medicine, urban development, water and sewer systems, and the transformation of traditional markets are areas Spain has made strides in that Taiwan could learn from. The Taiwan People’s Party has three major points as concerns cross-strait relations, he said: Taiwan needs more international friends; Taiwan’s all-out defense awareness needs to be further enhanced; and Taiwan’s global economic resilience should be strengthened. He hoped the delegates would share these ideas in Spain as a way of helping Taiwan gain further international support.
Legislator Wang Wan-yu then rose to speak, saying that on behalf of the New Power Party, she welcomed the delegation to visit Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan. She said was pleased to make new friends based on the spirit of freedom and democracy. She hoped that more people would come to know, understand, and support Taiwan. She said that parliamentary diplomacy is very important for Taiwan and Spain. In addition, child and juvenile welfare, human rights, culture, education, economics, and technology are important areas Taiwan and Spain could cooperate on, and she also expressed a hope of visiting Spain to further these ends.
The two sides then exchanged views on energy policy, climate change, economic and trade relations, and tourism. The meeting concluded at 12:30 p.m. after an exchange of gifts and a group photo.
A translation of President You’s remarks is as follows:
Representatives Rosa Romero Sánchez, Iván Espinosa, Jaime de Olano, Ricardo Tarno Blanco, José Ángel Alonso, and Juan Diego Requena; Director General Euba of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Legislators Wu I-ding, Chiu Tai-yuan, Chen I-hsin, Taiwan People’s Party Whip Chiu Chen-yuan, Legislator Wang Wan-yu; Secretary General Lin; Consultant Chou; Deputy Secretary Liu of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen:
Good morning!
It is a privilege to meet our distinguished guests. On behalf of the Taiwan’s legislature, I extend a sincere welcome to all of you. Although geographically distant, Taiwan and Spain have deep historical ties. From 1626 to 1642, the Spanish ruled northern Taiwan, building the City of Santo Domingo, which today is known as the “Red-Haired City” in Tamsui. During the 16 years of Spanish rule of northern Taiwan, there were close connections between the Spanish and local people through missionary work, language, and intermarriage. Anthropologists and geneticists have determined that some Taiwanese indeed have Spanish ancestry. As such, this gathering is like one among family members.
On October 6 last year, the Congress of Deputies proposed a motion of friendship with Taiwan and then adopted two statements, first reaffirming that the relationship between China and Taiwan should be based on a constructive dialogue without oppression and in line with public opinion, and the second expressing opposition to unilateral action that disrupts the cross-strait status quo. On behalf of the Taiwan’s legislature, I want to express my respects to you all for your actions.
Taiwan and Spain both experienced authoritarian rule. In 1978, your country’s dictatorship came to an end; in 1986, Taiwan broke through the ban on the formation of new political parties. In the following year, martial law was lifted and Taiwan embarked on the path of democratic transformation, the fruits of which we enjoy today. Because we have shared similar paths and both cherish our democratic systems and pluralistic civil societies, I believe that we can engage in deeper, more intensive exchanges in the future.
Taiwan and Spain share the universal values of democracy and freedom. In stark contrast, China is an authoritarian country. Despite its economic rise, it remains subject to the influence of traditional political thinking, believing that “those who affront China must pay, even if a thousand miles away.” It engages in repression at home and expansion abroad, as seen through its wolf-warrior diplomacy. China has increased tensions in the Indo-Pacific and poses a severe threat to global peace.
China misquotes the Cairo Declaration and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 in claiming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory. The Cairo Declaration was merely a letter of intent between the United States and China during WWII. The San Francisco Peace Treaty signed by 49 countries and entering into force on April 28, 1952, is the international legal framework by which to determine Taiwan’s status.
According to Article 2 of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan and Penghu, but it made no mention of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Subsequently, Taiwan has become a sovereign, independent country by holding comprehensive parliamentary elections, direct presidential elections, and witnessing three alternations of political party in power. It is therefore independent in line with the principle of self-determination as laid out in the United Nations Charter. According to international law, Taiwan and Penghu do not belong to China; Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other. It is an ironclad fact that Taiwan is not a part of China.
I want to again thank Spain for your support. Based on our shared values of freedom and democracy and our 397 years of historic bonds, I hope that our two countries will further cooperation and exchanges so that together we can make more contributions to international peace and stability. In closing, I wish you all a safe and pleasant trip. Thank you!