December 7, 2017
No.228
A delegation of five members from Germany’s Hessian parliament, led by Ismail Tipi, is visiting Taiwan from December 7 to 11, 2017, at the invitation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) government.
The trip will provide the delegation members with an understanding of recent political and economic developments in Taiwan, the current state of cross-strait relations, and Taiwan’s economic and trade relations with Germany, as well as enhance bilateral parliamentary exchanges.
During their stay, the guests will call at the Legislative Yuan, the Mainland Affairs Council, Taipei City Council, the Democratic Progressive Party, the Kuomintang, the New Power Party, the German Institute Taipei, and the German Trade Office Taipei, as well as attend a luncheon held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They will also visit various sites of cultural and economic interest, including the Discovery Center of Taipei, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the National Palace Museum, and Taipei 101.
Delegation leader Ismail Tipi is the current chairman of the Hesse-Taiwan Friendship Association. He has long championed bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Hesse through the association’s various activities, and spoken up for Taiwan at international events in his capacity as chairman.
Taiwan maintains closes judicial and academic exchanges with Hesse. In 2014, the Taiwan High Court signed a memorandum of understanding with the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt to promote mutual visits and seminars, exchanges of information, exchanges involving practical training for judges, and other such forms of cooperation. In the field of higher education, cooperation agreements have also been signed between Fu Jen Catholic University and the University of Marburg, as well as between National Taiwan University and the Technical University of Darmstadt. (E)