Twitter feed is Formosa Club’s Taiwan megaphone

• Staff writer, with CNA, BRUSSELS

The Formosa Club, established in 2019 by pro-Taiwan groups in the European Parliament and the parliaments of 13 European countries, on Monday opened a Twitter account, saying that the account would help support the nation on the basis of shared values and help it connect with the world.

Several group members voiced support for Taiwan in pre-recorded videos posted on the account.

The account would be a platform for Formosa Club members to exchange information about how to support Taiwan, European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group chairman Michael Gahler said.

German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Klaus-Peter Willsch lauded Taiwan as a beacon of democracy, rule of law and freedom.

“The people of Taiwan can be rightfully proud of this,” he said, pledging that he and all friends of Taiwan would do everything in their power to help the nation.

France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Francois de Rugy said that the account would be an important platform to safeguard the democratic values shared by Taiwan and France.

“Taiwan is at the forefront of threats coming from China, but we are all facing threats coming from China. So we all need this very strong and good cooperation,” Belgium-Taiwan Friendship Group co-president Georges Dallemagne said.

“From today, the support of European parliamentarians, including Slovaks, for Taiwan will be stronger than before,” Slovak-Taiwanese Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Peter Osusky said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in a video that since the Formosa Club’s establishment, it has been a strong supporter of Taiwan on numerous international occasions.

“Its recent letter to the WHO director-general in support of Taiwan’s participation in the WHO is truly a morale booster for the people of Taiwan and we are deeply grateful for that,” he said.

Wu said that he looked forward to the timely discussion of Taiwan-related issues on the account.

The Formosa Club includes more than 100 parliamentarians from the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK.