October 8, 2018
No.269
A five-member delegation led by Mr. Dirk Toepffer, chairman of the Christian Democratic Union （CDU） in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany, is visiting the Republic of China （Taiwan） from October 8 to 12, at the government’s invitation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warmly welcomes the delegation.
The purpose of the visit is to gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s political and economic development, as well as participate in the country’s National Day celebrations. The delegation will also call at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Development Council, the Mainland Affairs Council, Taipei City Government, the German Institute Taipei, and the German Trade Office Taipei, as well as visit sites of cultural and economic interest such as the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101.
In addition to Mr. Toepffer, the other members of the delegation are Jens Nacke, the CDU’s parliamentary manager for Lower Saxony; Gerda Hövel, a member of the State Parliament’s Presidium; Frank Richter, Mr. Toepffer’s office manager; and Anjuli Walter, the CDU’s public relations manager in Lower Saxony. All members of the delegation are visiting Taiwan for the first time.
Situated in northwestern Germany, Lower Saxony is home to the Volkswagen group. Aside from its well-developed automobile industry, the state is also the most important base for Germany’s wind power industry. Hannover, the state capital, is famed for its trade expositions: CeBit and Hannover Messe, two of the world’s leading exhibitions of their kind, attract numerous Taiwanese exhibitors every year. Taiwan and Lower Saxony engage in close bilateral exchanges in economics and trade, science and technology, culture and scholarship, among other fields.（E）