In mid-March, Belgian Dutch-language public broadcaster VRT aired a series of reports on Taiwan on its TV and radio stations, and news website, covering topics such as democracy, freedom, gender equality, the cross-strait situation, China's threat to Taiwan, and Taiwan's semiconductor industry. The highlights of the interviews are as follows:
The President of the Legislative Yuan You Si-kun said that for generations, the people of Taiwan have sacrificed their lives to make Taiwan a democratic country and to allow the people to be the masters of their own country. Now Taiwan can be said to have realized this dream, and cherish this achievement. He also stated his belief that if foreign forces invade Taiwan, the people of Taiwan will resist bravely and will not make it easy for the invader.
Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu said Taiwan has received support from democratic partners such as the United States, Europe and the Indo-Pacific countries, all of which recognize the importance of cross-strait peace and stability. We face a global situation of authoritarian expansion, and this is a problem for fellow democracies to deal with. The only solution is for democracies around the world to unite and prevent the continued expansion of authoritarianism, he said.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-Fang said that China's military exercises are not only a threat to Taiwan, but also a challenge and threat to the security of the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan's accumulated military strength is intended to make China think twice before invading Taiwan and to demonstrate its resilience in defending itself, he added.
Links to related articles:
1. “Our man in Taiwan: ‘China is in the head of the Taiwanese’" (Onze man in Taiwan: "China zit in het hoofd van de Taiwanezen") was published on the VRT News website on March 13.
2. The VRT News website published a video “Taiwan the democratic country resisting the authoritarian China” (Taiwan het democratische land dat standhoudt tegen het autoritaire China) on March 13. The piece was also broadcast on the VRT TV channel during the 13:00 and 19:00 news programs on the same day.
https://vrtnws.be/p.VqMaOZPvddm
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/a-z/vrt-nws-journaal/2023/vrt-nws-journaal-vrt-nws-journaal-19u-20230313/
3. The VRT news website published the video "VRT reporter in Kinmen: The war across the Taiwan strait never really stopped" (Onze reporter op enkele kilometers van de Chinese grens: "Oorlog tussen China en Taiwan is eigenlijk nooit gestopt") on March 14, the video was broadcast on the VRT TV channel on the same day at 19:00.
https://vrtnws.be/p.410vEQBnYnO
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/a-z/vrt-nws-journaal/2023/vrt-nws-journaal-vrt-nws-journaal-19u-20230314/
4. VRT's Radio 1 interviewed Stefan Blommaert on March 14: What are the differences between China and Taiwan? (Hoe verschillend zijn China en Taiwan?)
https://radio1.be/luister/select/de-wereld-vandaag/hoe-verschillend-zijn-china-en-taiwan
5. VRT's current affairs program Terzake broadcast a video on March 14, "’Not afraid, but angry’: Taiwan does not want to be a geopolitical plaything” ("Zijn niet bang, maar boos": Taiwan tegen wil en dank geopolitieke speelbal), which is also available on the VRT News website.
https://vrtnws.be/p.mnBGweEQn47
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/a-z/terzake/2023/terzake-d20230314/
6. The video “These chips are the reason why Taiwan is the plaything between China and the US” (Deze chips zijn de reden waarom Taiwan de speelbal is tussen China en VS) was published on March 15 on the VRT news website and aired on the VRT TV channel on March 17 at 19:00.
https://vrtnws.be/p.7QMlBGXvLkP
