中國霸凌行為逾越歐盟的價值底線
歐洲議會議員強力支持立陶宛與台灣發展關係

來自歐洲議會 #5大主流黨團、 #20個會員國 共 #62位重量級歐洲議會議員 公開聯名致函，這封信對象是立陶宛總統、總理及國會議長，同時副本歐盟高層，針對中國近來的威脅、恐嚇與霸凌(太離譜了 真的太離譜了)，展現與立陶宛團結一致的支持，並強調台灣在國際社會中扮演至關重要的角色，所有歐洲聯盟會員國均有權利與台灣深化經濟、文化與外交關係。

此外，歐洲議會副議長 #卡斯塔多 也表示支持立陶宛與台灣深化關係的決定，他也是歐洲議會最近通過挺台報告的一大推手呦～～

卡斯塔多在臉書表示，針對歐盟強化對台關係， #歐洲是時候該大力支持了 ，他最近接受義大利媒體「宣言報」訪問表示，台灣與歐盟共享多元 #民主 #自由 及 #尊重法治 精神，而違反人權及具侵略性的外交政策，歐盟都不能坐視不管保持沉默。

外交部誠摯感謝歐洲盟友持續用具體行動立挺台灣及立陶宛，未來台灣將持續與立陶宛及歐盟等理念相近夥伴保持密切交流，鞏固全球民主陣營力量！

62 cross-party MEPs signed an open letter to #Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda, Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė expressing their support for the people of Lithuania amid the threats, intimidation and bullying behaviour they’ve suffered at the hands of the PRC.

The letter, which was also forwarded to the leadership of the #EuropeanUnion, condemned the pattern of using “de-facto trade sanctions” against countries in an attempt to coerce them into geopolitical acquiescence. The letter called for the EU to reiterate the right of all its member states to conduct their economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with #Taiwan as they see fit, adding that Taiwan has a vital role to play in the international community.

This comes as European Parliament Vice President Fabio Massimo Castaldo took to Facebook to say it was time for Europe to strongly support bolstering relations with Taiwan, following an interview with Italian daily il manifesto in which he condemned human rights abuses in China and emphasized Taiwan as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

Taiwan strives to be a force for stability and good in the international community and we’ll continue to safeguard our values of #democracy, #freedom and respect for #HumanRights and #RuleOfLaw, shoulder to shoulder with our #LikeMinded partners in Lithuania and the #EU.

Trump Trump投稿WSJ，解釋點解佢要挑戰一班創科鉅企，內文寫得真係好，忍唔住節錄部份比大家睇：

//Social media has become as central to free speech as town meeting halls, newspapers and television networks were in prior generations. The internet is the new public square. In recent years, however, Big Tech platforms have become increasingly brazen and shameless in censoring and discriminating against ideas, information and people on social media—banning users, deplatforming organizations, and aggressively blocking the free flow of information on which our democracy depends.//

//No longer are Big Tech giants simply removing specific threats of violence. They are manipulating and controlling the political debate itself. Consider content that was censored in the past year. Big Tech companies banned users from their platforms for publishing evidence that showed the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, which even the corporate media now admits may be true. //

//Perhaps most egregious, in the weeks after the election, Big Tech blocked the social-media accounts of the sitting president. If they can do it to me, they can do it to you—and believe me, they are.//

//Meanwhile, Chinese propagandists and the Iranian dictator spew threats and hateful lies on these platforms with impunity.//

//Democrats in Congress are exploiting this leverage to coerce platforms into censoring their political opponents. In recent years, we have all watched Congress haul Big Tech CEOs before their committees and demand that they censor “false” stories and “disinformation”—labels determined by an army of partisan fact-checkers loyal to the Democrat Party. As the cases of fellow plaintiffs Ms. Horton, Dr. Victory and the Michael family demonstrate, in practice this amounts to suppression of speech that those in power do not like.//

// Big Tech and traditional media entities formed the Trusted News Initiative, which essentially takes instructions from the CDC about what information they need to “combat.” The tech companies are doing the government’s bidding, colluding to censor unapproved ideas.//

//Through these lawsuits, I intend to restore free speech for all Americans—Democrats, Republicans and independents. I will never stop fighting to defend the constitutional rights and sacred liberties of the American people.//

「我在這裡說，美國不會讓你孤單，我們會在你們的身旁。」

美國參議員達克沃絲（Tammy Duckworth, D-IL）
2021/6/6 9:30 訪台記者會
（聽打、翻譯，基隆市議員 張之豪）

謝謝。我很榮幸來到這裡。我們來到這就是要強調（美國）跨黨派對台灣的支持與（兩國）的堅定的夥伴關係。這個疫情是個全球的挑戰，我們有太多人為此失去了親友，失去了維生的依據。過去一年半以來，我們也看到covid19沒有分國界，它傳播起來時毫不猶豫，也不在意種族、宗教或政治偏好，儘管有些國家就是想利用疫情來威嚇別國。

我們以朋友的身份來這裡，因為我們知道台灣正在挑戰艱鉅的時刻。這也讓我們三人跨黨派來這裡，更為重要。朋友就是要在有難的時候，互相幫助。拜登政權已經宣布將對全球支援8千萬劑疫苗，首批釋出的有2500萬。白宮與我們三人經過幾週的討論後，我很高興在此宣佈，台灣將先收到75萬劑的疫苗。台灣被包含在首批收到疫苗的國家裡，這件事，對美國極其重要。因為我們了解到台灣現在很急，而我們非常珍惜這個夥伴關係。今天上午，我們將與台灣的領袖見面，我們也將把台灣的訊息帶回華盛頓。我知道在未來的日子裡，拜登政權將會確保台灣收到這些疫苗，安全、有效、越快越好。這會幫助拯救生命，並且讓我們更緊密，一起把疫情終結掉。

因為終結這個疫情也表示國際社會必須一起合作，盡可能讓越多人手臂上注射一針疫苗。因為終結疫情意指著在每個地方都必須終結。而這也反映出台灣在美國最需要的時候，伸出援手，我們的感激之情。在疫情剛開始時，台灣來援，提供PPE與其他救援物資來幫助拯救美國人的性命。我謹代表美國人民，向您們致謝。這是另一個「民主國家彼此合作彼此幫助」的案例。

我特別想親自來這裡，因為我的家庭，多數人知道，我父親的家族，從美國獨立革命起，幾代以來，就為美軍服役，為自由與民主奮戰。但你們多數有所不知的是，我母親的家族，其實最早是從廣東潮州逃離的，為了追求自由，為了逃離共產主義。我的母親在1940初期的泰國出生。所以這對我特別重要，來亞洲支持另一個民主政權。我的家庭與我，知道自由的代價。我在這裡對您們說，美國不會讓你孤單。我們會在你們的身旁來確定台灣人民會得到他們需要的，以此克服疫情，走向未來。謝謝你們。

※

Landing speech 2021/6/6
(Taipei International Airport)

Tammy Duckworth, D-IL

Thank you. I’m so honored to be here today. And we are here to underscore the bipartisan support for Taiwan and the strength of our partnership. This pandemic has been a global challenge and too many of us have lost loved ones and have their livelihoods taken away. And for the past year and half, we’ve seen how covid-19 knows no borders. It spreads quickly and without hesitation. And it doesn’t care about race, religion, or political preferences. Even if some nations seek to use the response to covid-19 to coerce others. We are here as friends, because we know that Taiwan is experiencing a challenging time right now. Which is why it’s especially important for the three of us to be here in a bipartisan way. Friends come to each other’s aid. The Biden administration has announced its framework of showing at least 80 million vaccines, uh, US vaccine doses globally and the plan is for the first 25 million doses. After several weeks of conversations between each of the three of us, and the White House officials, I am please to say that Taiwan will receiving 750,000 doses of the vaccines as part of the first bunch of doses. It was critical for United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership. We’ll be meeting Taiwan’s leadership this morning to better understand Taiwan’s needs and carry those messages back to Washington. I know in the days ahead that Biden Administration will work to make sure Taiwan receives its shipment in as safe and effective its vaccines as soon as possible. This helps save lives and brings us closer to ending this pandemic once and for all.

Because ending this pandemic means that all of us in international community must work together to get shot in the arms of as many people as possible because truly ending this pandemic means ending it everywhere. And it also reflects our gratitude to Taiwan’s support for the American people in our time of need. In the early days of the pandemic, Taiwan came to our aid, with supply of PPE and other donations that help to save American lives. And on behalf of American people, we want to thank you for that. This is yet another example of how democracies work together to help one another.

You know I especially wanna be here because my family, most of you may know, my father’s family has served in the American military going back to the revolution, fighting for freedom and democracy. But most of you don’t know that my mother’s family is actually from Chaochiu from Guangdong who walked out of China seeking freedom to escape communism. And my mother was born in Thailand in the early 1940s. So it’s especially important to me to be here to support another democracy in the region. My family and I know the price of freedom. And I am here to tell you, that the United States will not let you stand alone. We will be by your side to make sure the people of Taiwan have what they need to get to the other side of this pandemic and beyond, Thank you.