STORY: Six members of the Bundestag visit Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen. The cross-party delegation from the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid has traveled to the Pacific island for talks. It is also about the current security situation in Taiwan. Tsai thanked Germany for its support as a partner that shares the values of freedom and democracy. The FDP MP and delegation leader Peter Heidt said that Taiwan was at the center of a competition between the systems. “And here I’m not just talking about verbal attacks on Taiwan, but about an actual military threat that should not be underestimated. First, I would like to reiterate that from a German perspective, the status quo in the Taiwan Strait could only be changed peacefully and by mutual consent.” The latest threats from China have been heard, said Heidt. China’s President Xi Jinping recently spoke out again against independence for the democratically governed Taiwan at the Congress of the Communist Party. The leader of the Communist Party, confirmed at the Beijing rally for an unprecedented third term, has set China on an increasingly authoritarian trajectory.