August 27, 2016
No. 188
A five-member delegation from Germany’s Junge Union, led by Chairman Paul Ziemiak, will visit Taiwan from August 27 to 31 at the invitation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) government. The trip will give delegation members the opportunity to gain a better understanding of Taiwan’s political, economic, and social developments, as well as of its relations with mainland China.
The visitors will call at the Legislative Yuan, National Development Council, Mainland Affairs Council, Bureau of Energy under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, New Taipei City government, German Institute Taipei, and German Trade Office Taipei, as well as attend a luncheon hosted by Deputy Foreign Minister Chih-Chung Wu. Also on the agenda are visits to various sites of cultural and economic interest including the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, Taiwan Excellence Pavilion, Lungshan Temple, auto parts makers, and Kinmen Island.
The CDU and CSU, together with the Social Democratic Party, make up Germany’s ruling coalition. The Junge Union was formed in 1947 as the youth branch of the CDU and CSU; membership stands currently at 120,000, making it Germany’s largest youth political organization. Many current German parliamentarians, federal ministers, or state minister-presidents or cabinet members have held important Union positions at the federal or state level. The visit is expected to be of particular help in spurring greater bilateral exchanges between the young people of the two countries.
Other members of the delegation include Christian Natterer, vice chair of the Union; Nikolas Löbel, chair of the Union’s Baden-Württemberg chapter; Maximilian Neumeyer, chair of the Union’s Bremen chapter; and Christoph Brzezinski, chair of the Union’s Berlin chapter. (E)