August 22, 2016
No.183
Dr. Roland Heintze, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in the German state of Hamburg, is leading a five-member delegation on a visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan) from August 22 to 26, 2016, at the invitation of the ROC government.
The purpose of the visit is to gain a better understanding of Taiwan’s political, economic, and cultural development, as well as facilitate exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Germany in such areas as green energy and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The delegation will call at the Mainland Affairs Council, the Bureau of Energy and the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the German Institute Taipei, as well as several shipping companies. Furthermore, the delegation will attend a luncheon hosted by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chih-Chung Wu, and visit various sites of interest such as the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Lungshan Temple, and Taroko National Park. The delegation will also visit Kaohsiung City to see its municipal infrastructure and port operations.
Taiwan and Germany enjoy frequent and close exchanges in such fields as trade and investment, technology, culture, and tourism. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$14.6 billion in 2015. Hamburg is a city-state with a population of 1.8 million, making it the second-largest city in Germany. It is also home to the largest number of Taiwanese overseas compatriots in Germany. Taiwan shipping companies Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming Marine Transport, and Wan Hai Lines have all set up their European headquarters in Hamburg, the hub of Germany’s shipping industry, with the Hamburg state government attaching great importance to their presence in the region. Around 60 other Taiwanese enterprises have also established offices in Hamburg. Meanwhile, the Port of Kaohsiung and the Port of Hamburg became sister ports in 1999.
In addition to Dr. Heintze, the delegation consists of Mr. André Trepoll, chairman of the CDU group in the Hamburg state parliament, Mr. Ruediger Kruse, member of the German Bundestag and responsible for the CDU group’s policies on the maritime economy, Mr. Hjalmar Stemmann, chairman of the Hamburg association for small and medium-sized enterprises of the CDU (MIT Hamburg) and former Hamburg state parliament member, as well as Mr. Sören Niehaus, head of the chairman’s office of the CDU party in Hamburg. (E)