Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) made a previously undisclosed trip to the Netherlands in September, Domino Theory has learned.
According to a document published by the Dutch government, Lin was in the country from September 13 through September 15. The document states that the Dutch government and its officials will “refrain from engaging in meetings or interactions” with Lin, in alignment with the Netherland’s One China Policy.
The full statement reads:
“The government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands reaffirms its commitment to the One China Policy as established in the Joint Communique between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the People’s Republic of China, dated 16 May 1972.
“In alignment with this policy, the government and its officials will refrain from engaging in meetings or interactions with Mr. Lin Chia-lung and his delegation during their visit to the Netherlands from 13 to 15 September.”
Liberty Times had reported that Lin visited another country in Europe during his September tour, but that the visit was not publicized due to a tacit agreement with the host government. Chinese personnel reportedly monitored some of Lin’s activities during his visit to what was then described as “the second stop.”
When asked to comment on Lin’s trip, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.
The Netherlands Office Taipei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During his trip, Lin visited Giant Bicycles. The Taiwanese company has its European headquarters in the Dutch province of Flevoland. Giant Bicycles’ Netherlands branch confirmed Lin’s visit, but have yet to comment further.
The Netherlands is a key trade partner for Taiwan, in part because a Dutch company, ASML, is the only worldwide producer of the extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, machines that TSMC uses to print its most advanced chips. ASML’s press officer in Taiwan, Karen Lo (羅凱琳), was asked whether Lin visited ASML during his time in the Netherlands. She said: “I’m not aware of this and would not comment on speculations.”
“It was the first visit of a sitting Taiwanese foreign minister to the Netherlands,” said Sense Hofstede, the author of De Chinese Wouden, a Dutch-language newsletter on Taiwan and China. He said that the visit “fits within the gradual maturing of Dutch-Taiwanese interactions in recent years” and that “the role of legislators in pushing for a clearer Dutch approach to Taiwan probably played a role in that.”
Lin wrote an op-ed in Dutch outlet NieuwRechts on September 9 calling on the world to give Taiwan its “rightful place on the global stage.” The Taipei representative office in the Netherlands publicized the article on September 16, the day after Lin’s reported visit.
On September 21, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a motion calling on the Netherlands government to back Taiwan’s meaningful participation during the United Nations General Assembly and at meetings held by other international organizations.
The House of Representatives had previously passed four motions in April that among other things promoted “high-level official visits between Taiwan and the Netherlands.” Taiwan’s foreign ministry stated at the time that:
“Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung recognizes that Taiwan and the Netherlands have forged an increasingly close relationship, that support for Taiwan in the Dutch parliament has grown steadily year after year, and that the Netherlands is an important partner in the promotion of President Lai Ching-te’s Five Trusted Industry Sectors.”
The recent motions in the Dutch parliament have been spearheaded by representative Jan Paternotte, one of the Dutch co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which coordinates legislative efforts to support Taiwan. Paternotte met with Lin during his visit and said that they had discussed “the close links between our leading companies, ASML and TSMC, as well as cooperation in the fields of science and innovation.”
Paternotte said that peace in the Indo-Pacific “directly concerns us,” adding that: “For the Netherlands, a crisis in the Strait would have an outsized economic impact, so it is pivotal to deter escalation and preserve the status quo in the Indo-Pacific.”
Lin’s visit is “an important milestone, even if it happened without publicity and with an explicit caveat issued by the Dutch government,” said Matej Simalcik, the executive director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, who initially alerted Domino Theory to the existence of the document confirming Lin’s visit. He said the visit “appears to be an exercise in trying to balance the relations with Taiwan and with China.”
Lin’s method of visiting the Netherlands quietly could serve as a model for other countries that want to engage with Taiwan without angering China. Simalcik said this was particularly the case “when it comes to establishing executive-level contacts with countries that are, for whatever reason, not yet ready to engage with Taiwan out in the open, but don’t want to block such visits either.”
Lin returned to Europe this week and spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum on September 29. His current whereabouts are unknown.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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