The foreign ministry said Thursday that four delegations from Europe will be coming to Taiwan to attend the country’s National Day celebrations on October 10.
The four delegations include 16 lawmakers and dignitaries from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal. They include a group led by Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, head of the Vatican’s Order of the Holy Sepulchre. There will also be a group of Belgian parliamentarians led by Raf Terwingen, co-chair of the Belgium-Taiwan Friendship Group.
The foreign ministry also said several groups from Europe have visited Taiwan over the past month. These include a delegation from the French parliament led by Frédérique Massat, chair of the National Assembly's Committee on Economic Affairs. There was also a group led by Daniel Caspary, the coordinator of the European People's Party (EPP) Group on the International Trade Committee (INTA) of the European Parliament.
From the UK there has been a delegation led by Nigel Evans, head of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, while from Germany, Till Steffen, minister of justice of Hamburg, also brought a group to Taiwan.