Spain’s Congress of Deputies opposes any unilateral action to alter the status quo of the Taiwan Strait, visiting Spanish lawmaker Rosa Romero Sanchez said Friday in Taipei.
Romero Sanchez, president of the Spanish lower house’s Health and Consumer Commission, made the comment at a press conference, adding that China and Taiwan should engage in constructive dialogue.
She mentioned that the Spanish lower house issued a statement on Oct. 6, 2022, to express its concerns over tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The statement came in the wake of China’s conducting of multiple military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan following a trip to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), it was the first time since the severing of diplomatic relations between Spain and the Republic of China, Taiwan’s de jure name, that a Spanish legislative branch had issued a statement in support of Taiwan.
Romero Sanchez told the press conference that she and her delegation visited Taiwan to explore opportunities to deepen bilateral ties.
Romero Sanchez arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a five-day visit with a delegation that also includes parliamentarians Jaime De Olano, Ricardo Tarno Blanco, Jose Angel Alonso, and Juan Diego Requena.
According to MOFA, the five-member delegation was scheduled to meet with Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (???), Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (???), and Deputy Foreign Minister Tsai Ming-yen (???).
MOFA added that the group would also meet with representatives of Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, Mainland Affairs Council, and the Council of Agriculture before its departure on Saturday.
Unlike the German, Lithuanian and Tuvaluan parliamentary groups that had visited Taiwan over the past week, the Spanish delegation led by Romero Sanchez was not scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (???), nor Premier Su Tseng-chang (???).
Asked by local media if such an arrangement was a result of any form of Chinese pressure, Romero Sanchez did not give a clear response, saying only that the trip had proceeded as scheduled.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel