The prevailing wisdom is that, as far as the “Taiwan issue” is concerned, due to China’s increasing military strength and regional dominance, time is on the CCP’s side. On Monday, a German Ministry of Foreign Affairs official rejected a petition initiated by a German national, Michael Kreuzberg, asking Berlin to formally recognize Taiwan. This surprised nobody, least of all Kreuzberg, but there are still reasons to take heart from the process. Through the petition, Kreuzberg also compelled the German government to discuss the issue in a public forum. Kreuzberg also said that the issue reportedly has support among politicians from several parties, despite the rejection, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

Source: Taipei Times December 11, 2019 15:56 UTC