EU must not remove arms ban on China

[dArKeR]

Former representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (???) was officially sworn in as Taiwan's representative to the EU on Sept. 7. He will face a critical challenge: stopping the EU from lifting its arms embargo on China.

The EU actually vetoed the cancelation of the arms ban by a vote of 14 to 1 last December. However, backed by France, China is likely to win the gradual support of Germany, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands. This year, Beijing has decided to stage a comeback, and to aggressively strive for the support of EU member states.

We must keep an eye on the Dutch presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of this year, and developments once Portugal's former prime minister Jose Manuel Barroso officially begins his five-year term as the president of the European Commission in November. In fact, the Dutch presidency already announced the inclusion in its priority agenda of new discussions on whether to withdraw the weapons ban on China.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2004/09/12/2003202612