Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. (Photo credit: Taiwan Presidential Office)
The Danish Foreign Minister joined Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in defending democratic values at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Monday (May 10). China (Communist Party of China) dismissed the summit as a “political farce” and accused it of interfering in China’s internal affairs.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod delivered the keynote speech “Defending Democracy as a Core Value” at the Democracy Summit on Monday. He denounced China’s recent sanctions against the EU as “egregious” and hinted at a stronger response to China’s actions.
File photo: Danish Foreign Minister Kovod.
“When universal values such as human rights and freedom of expression are under pressure, we need to stand firm and react faster and more strongly,” he said.
Coverdale said he is preparing a new “values-based” foreign policy and security strategy.
In a video address at the summit, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called for global cooperation to defend democratic values that are increasingly being eroded by the expansion of authoritarian regimes.
She said it is the shared responsibility of all to maintain democracy and peace and stability, and therefore the global alliance for democracy must be strengthened to preserve freedom, the rule of law, human rights and the space to express dissent.
Commenting on the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2021, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Denmark said Monday that the summit “is a political farce that accuses countries like China of ‘threatening’ Western democracy. It’s a travesty.”
The spokesman also criticized the invitation of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Lo Kwun-chung to the summit as interference in China’s internal affairs.
“The so-called ‘democracy summit’ also invited the head of ‘Taiwan independence’ and ‘Hong Kong independence’ elements to participate, violating the one-China principle and nakedly interfering in China’s internal affairs The spokesman said. “Under the banner of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’, they are interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, creating division and confrontation, and making sinister attempts to make them look grand, which are the usual tricks and ‘skills’ of some Western politicians. This is the usual trick and ‘skill’ of some Western politicians, but in the end, they cannot escape the fate of failing to make trouble, and failing again to make trouble.”
Beijing regards democratic, self-governing Taiwan as its “sacred” territory and a province to be reunified.
On March 22, the European Union, in a joint action with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced sanctions against Chinese officials over human rights issues in Xinjiang, China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately responded by calling the EU sanctions “based on lies and false information,” and announced similar sanctions against 10 individuals and four entities in the EU.
Among those sanctioned by China was the nonprofit Alliance for Democracy Foundation, the organizer of the summit. The foundation was founded by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary-general and former Danish prime minister.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Denmark’s prime minister, met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in 2009, causing strong resentment in Beijing. But since then, Denmark’s relations with China have improved significantly. However, the Danish government has recently been criticized by parliament for being too passive on the issue of Chinese intervention in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
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