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9 Eur. Foreign Aff. Rev. 115 (2004)
The European Parliament and the China-Taiwan Issue: An Empirical Approach

handle is hein.kluwer/eurofa0009 and id is 123 raw text is: European Foreign Affairs Review 9:115-140, 2004. © 2004 Kluwer Law International. The European Parliament and the China-Taiwan Issue: An Empirical Approach YUCHUN LAN* I Introduction The European Union (EU) is the third largest trading partner of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the major supplier of advanced technology and foreign direct investment. The EU is also Taiwan's third most important trading partner, while Taiwan is the EU's third largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region. In this context, the EU, being a 'global civil power',1 begs the question: could the EU play a significant role in cross-Strait (of Taiwan) relations? The answer might be hybrid. When commercial interests with Beijing are emphasized by the Commission and the Council of the EU, it is the European Parliament (EP) that expresses European concern regarding the unpredictable development of China-Taiwan relations. Indeed, the European Parliament assumes the function of delivering the European message in global and regional conflicting affairs.2 The realistic economic considerations of the Council and the Commission are thus balanced by the EP's liberal attitude of promoting human rights and preserving democracy. As to Taipei, cultivating substantial relations in addition to the trade with the EU is a means to break their isolation in the international arena. However in comparison with the EU's economic relations with China - the EU's second largest export market3 - the importance of Taiwan's economy becomes diluted and hardly transforms into significant political outcomes. Besides the relativity of the economic power of Beijing and Taipei, another fundamental political factor limits the development of EU-Taiwan relations: neither the EU nor its Member States recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, but only as a separate customs territory or economic entity. The EU has never Department of Political Science, National Chung-Cheng University, Taiwan. M. Yahuda, 'The Potential Significance of A Civil Power: Europe and Cross-Strait Relations', Taipei Journal, 7, 14, and 28 December 2001. 2 N. Fontaine, Mes Combats b la Prdsidence du Parlement Europeen (Plon, Paris, 2002), pp. 149-165. I In 2001, the volume of EU-Taiwan trade was EUR31.761 million, while that for EU-China was EUR103.4 billion. See <www.europa.eu.int/comm/external relations/china>. Copyright' 2007 by Kluwer Law International. All rights reserved. No claim asserted to original government works.

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