The European Dimension of German-Taiwanese Relations

A Critical Assessment

Abstract

The history of German-Taiwanese relations since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 and the retreat of Republican China’s Guomindang govern- ment to Taiwan after its defeat in the Chinese civil war in the very same year has no comprehensive written account yet. In a sense, one can speak of a no-history of these relations. Contrary to many other states in the Western hemisphere (and beyond), Germany never held diplomatic relations with the exiled Republic of China on Taiwan, not even before 1971 when Taipei finally lost its UN seat to the People’s Republic of China. German politics vis-ä-vis the ROC was very much a dependent variable of German politics towards the PRC, even more so after 1972 when Bonn and Beijing finalized their negotiations on mutual recognition and exchanged ambassadors. This general ap- proach has not changed until the very present.