EUROPE has lost its identity and is trying to find its role in the midst of confusion over Brexit and the possibility of other states leaving the trading bloc, according to a major Asian policy research institute.
And Lai I-Chung, a foreign policy expert at the Taiwan Thinktank said his country was not begging for pity from the West in its continuing stand-off with China.
Lai made his remarks to a meeting of European and North American journalists at a briefing in the Taiwanese capital Taipei.
“I think Europe is at the moment searching for its own role,” said Lai. “The real crisis for Europe is not about Brexit, or other countries in Europe who want to get out – it’s that Europe has lost its sense of identity in this global world.
“But I hope Europe can find its own goal.”
Taiwan, though, is not without its own problems, both political and economic.
Although it is self-governing, Beijing claims it is a Chinese territory following a civil war in the 1940s and has blocked moves for it to join international bodies.
This year’s Rio Olympics saw nearly 60 Taiwanese athletes take part under the banner “Chinese Taipei”.
The country is also emerging from the longest exports slump in its history – 17 consecutive months of falling figures came to an end in July and August with a modest 1 per cent year-on-year rise.
Integrated circuits and memory chips from Taiwan can be found in most of the world’s mobile phones and are the main drivers of its economy.
But while manufacturing is staging a modest recovery, tourism, property and transportation have been losing momentum.
The number of Chinese tourists fell by 15 per cent year on year in July and saw a further slide last month.
A bus crash in July that killed 26 Chinese tourists on the way to Taipei airport did nothing to bolster the figures and the travel industry is planning a protest in the capital today.
Willie Rennie told by pro-Europe caucus: Be ‘open’ on constitution
Visas might be needed to visit the EU post-Brexit, accepts Rudd
Maintaining access to the single market should be 'key priority', claims report
Book review: Does Brexit mean the good times are coming to an end for the City's slickers?
President Tsai Ing-wen, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – which favours independence from China – started her presidency in May with a call for a “positive dialogue” with Beijing.
However, she has refused to recognise the “1992 consensus” which was the result of a meeting between the two sides that year that there is only one China, although both sides were free to make their own interpretation of its actual meaning.
The travel industry has linked her refusal with falling numbers of tourists.
Ringo Lee, from Taiwan’s Travel Agent Association said: “We don’t want to get into the political issues, but we’re suffering and we’ll suffer even more in the next three to six months.
“The government has to help us through this tough time.”
Andrew Yang, secretary general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, added: “Taiwan and China have been on a cold war footing since May. There is no solution in sight. Neither side is willing to blink.”
The United Nations general assembly opens this week in New York, and a delegation from the Taiwan United Nations Alliance will be lobbying for representation on the body.
Despite this, Lai insisted that Taiwan was not brandishing a begging bowl.
“Taiwan is not a country that’s begging for pity or friends,” he said.
“We welcome friends that give us proper respect, but we are not begging for recognition.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here