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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Far right gains in EU polls may benefit Taiwan: forum
Academics and legislators attend a forum on European political trends hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research yesterday in Taipei. Photo: CNA
By Wu Che-yu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Europe might pay more attention to Taiwan following far right gains in the EU parliamentary elections, Institute of Policy Research chief executive officer Wang Hong-zen （王宏仁） said yesterday.
The increase in the number of seats held by the right in the bloc’s deliberative body did not fundamentally alter the makeup of the EU’s center-right leadership, he told a forum on European political trends hosted by the institute in Taipei.
The Greens parties lost many youth votes to the new social media strategy employed by the far right, he said.
The centrists kept control of the European Parliament because the electoral gains of the extreme right fell far short of expectations and the faction suffered from infighting, Wang said.
The EU would likely shift its stance on climate, security and trade policies toward a conservative and protectionist direction, he said, adding that the elections put Europe’s internal divisions on display for external forces.
However, Taiwan’s cooperation with Europe could benefit from the rise of the far right, especially in matters related to technology and security, he said.
Major changes in the US-EU relationship are not likely, as the two have strong ties in trade and defense, Wang added.
The outcome of the EU elections bode ill for French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose coalition governments are facing general elections at home, Tunghai University political science professor Shen Yu-chung （沈有忠） said.
The fall of Germany’s and France’s ruling coalition governments is assured if the voting patterns in the two nations during the EU elections hold in the upcoming local elections, he said.
The main reason behind the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive last summer was the incomplete absorption of Western tactics in the Ukrainian military’s lower ranks, Tamkang University international affairs and strategic studies assistant professor Lin Ying-yu （林穎佑） said.
Taiwan should learn from this when implementing military reforms, he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing to boost Sino-Russian cooperation in energy and military equipment, but did not achieve either of these objectives, said Kuo Yu-jen （郭育仁）, a professor at the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University.
For now, Beijing appears wary of sparking the ire of the US and the EU, and would likely refrain from overt acts of assistance until the outcome of the US presidential election is known, he said.
The support for Ukraine shown at the G7 summit and the inking of a 10-year US-Ukraine security agreement pushed back against the notion of Western defeatism and Ukraine fatigue, Foundation on East Asia Peace Studies CEO Tung Li-wen （董立文） said.
These developments are a reminder to Beijing that a global anti-authoritarian framework has solidified, he said, adding that the security agreement would bind future US administrations, even if former US president Donald Trump is re-elected.
Russia and North Korea refrained from completely affirming China’s territorial claim over Taiwan, as ambiguity benefits these countries, National Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping （范世平） said.
The former continues to maintain a representative office in Taipei and the latter is known to have deployed Taiwanese to smuggle energy, he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
