BERLIN — What began as an informal group of Taiwan-friendly lawmakers four years ago has now become an officially registered parliamentary organization in the German capital — and the cross-party lineup behind it could be the most important part of the story.
The Berlin House of Representatives formally registered the Berlin–Taipei Parliamentary Friendship Group on August 27, bringing together 18 lawmakers from three major political parties: the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens.
SPD lawmaker Tamara Lüdke and Green lawmaker Jian Omar will serve as the group’s co-chairs.
The organization was originally created informally by Taiwan-supporting Berlin legislators in 2022. Its transition into a formally registered parliamentary group gives the initiative a stronger institutional footing and a clearer platform for political, economic and people-to-people exchanges between Berlin and Taiwan.
It is also notable for another reason: according to reports citing Taiwan’s representative office in Germany, it is the first formally registered foreign friendship group within the Berlin House of Representatives.
That distinction is important. Taiwan friendship groups already exist among lawmakers in several other German state legislatures, including Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse and Bavaria. Berlin’s move therefore should not be portrayed as Germany’s first state-level Taiwan friendship initiative, but rather as a significant formalization inside the capital’s own parliament.
Cross-Party Support Sends the Strongest Message
The participation of legislators from the CDU, SPD and Greens gives the initiative a political significance beyond the number of lawmakers involved.
Lüdke said the transformation from a voluntary group formed in 2022 into an organization backed by three parliamentary caucuses — with members drawn from different committees — demonstrated growing recognition for the initiative inside the legislature.
Omar placed the new group in a broader democratic context, arguing that Berlin and Taiwan are connected not only through economic and political interests but also through shared democratic principles.
He described Taiwan as an important democratic presence in Asia and said democratic partners should support Taiwan amid growing military and political pressure from China.
The group is expected to function as a platform for future exchanges and cooperation between Berlin and Taiwan.
That does not mean Berlin is suddenly determining German foreign policy. Germany’s policy toward Taiwan is made at the federal level, and Berlin’s state parliament cannot change Germany’s diplomatic recognition policy.
But parliamentary diplomacy can still matter — particularly by encouraging official visits, business exchanges, academic cooperation and political dialogue that take place below the level of formal diplomatic relations.
Taiwan Sees a Historical Parallel With Berlin
Taiwan’s Representative to Germany Gu Ruey-sheng attended the founding event and thanked Berlin lawmakers for securing cross-party support for the organization.
Gu drew a historical comparison between Taiwan’s current democratic position and Cold War-era West Berlin, which was surrounded by communist East Germany while emerging as a highly visible symbol of political freedom.
Berlin, Gu argued, remains associated internationally with democracy and freedom, while Taiwan and the German capital increasingly share interests involving democratic governance, technology and innovation.
Taipei hopes the friendship group will eventually bring more Berlin lawmakers to Taiwan and open the door to deeper exchanges.
Among those attending the event were senior Berlin political figures, including Finance Senator Stefan Evers and Dennis Buchner, vice president of the Berlin House of Representatives.
The Economic Relationship Is Already Much Bigger Than the Politics Suggest
Behind the political symbolism lies a substantial commercial relationship.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office describes Taiwan and Germany as important partners with extensive economic, cultural, scientific and academic ties despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
Germany says Taiwan is currently its fifth-most-important trading partner in Asia, while Germany is Taiwan’s most important trading partner within the European Union. Around 300 German companies operate in Taiwan.
The numbers have also been moving upward.
According to figures cited by the German Trade Office Taipei, bilateral Taiwan-Germany trade reached approximately US$21.7 billion in 2025, an increase of about 6 percent from the previous year.
That marked the fifth consecutive year in which two-way trade remained above US$20 billion.
The relationship is especially relevant in sectors including semiconductors, precision machinery, automation, advanced manufacturing, green energy and technology supply chains.
For Germany — Europe’s largest economy and one of the world’s major industrial powers — Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem is difficult to ignore.
For Taiwan, Germany offers not only a major European market but also deep expertise in industrial machinery, automobiles, manufacturing systems and advanced engineering.
Germany Already Has a Powerful Taiwan Link at the Federal Level
Berlin’s new group is not emerging in isolation.
Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, has maintained its own Parliamentary Friendship Group Berlin–Taipei since 1989.
That group remains active.
A Bundestag delegation traveled to Taiwan from May 23 to May 31, 2026, meeting political leaders and exploring additional cooperation in economic, political and cultural fields.
The German parliament said the delegation was received by President Lai Ching-te, former president Tsai Ing-wen and members of Taiwan’s parliamentary friendship group with Germany.
The delegation also visited the Central Taiwan Science Park, underscoring just how prominently semiconductor and technology cooperation now feature in the relationship.
The existence of friendship groups at both federal and state levels therefore suggests that Taiwan-related parliamentary diplomacy in Germany is becoming increasingly institutionalized.
But Germany’s One-China Policy Has Not Changed
The development should not be mistaken for German diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
Germany officially maintains diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, not Taiwan, and continues to operate under its One-China policy.
German interests in Taiwan are represented through the German Institute Taipei rather than an embassy.
At the same time, Berlin has repeatedly stated that it wants to expand substantive relations with Taiwan within the framework of that policy.
Germany also says any change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait must occur peacefully and by mutual consent.
That balancing act is unlikely to disappear.
China remains enormously important to Germany economically. German government figures put Germany-China goods trade at roughly €252 billion in 2025, making Beijing a commercial partner on an entirely different scale.
Yet Germany has also become increasingly vocal about reducing dangerous economic dependencies, protecting critical supply chains and strengthening partnerships with democratic economies in the Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan sits directly at the intersection of all three issues.
Why Berlin’s Move Matters
On paper, an 18-member friendship group in a state legislature might look like a modest diplomatic development.
But its importance lies in what it represents.
The group survived four years as an informal initiative, won formal backing from three political parties and has now been incorporated into the parliamentary structure of Germany’s capital.
It also comes alongside an established Bundestag friendship group, Taiwan-focused initiatives elsewhere in Germany and more than US$21 billion in annual bilateral trade.
None of that changes Germany’s diplomatic recognition policy overnight.
But it does show something that may prove more consequential over time: Germany’s relationship with Taiwan is increasingly being built through institutions that can survive changes in individual governments and political personalities.
And that could make Berlin’s seemingly symbolic parliamentary move far more important than the size of the group initially suggests.
Leave a Reply