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China may be walking a fine line with its understated backing of Russia, but Ukraine is attempting to strike a similar balance by growing ties with Taiwan.
Beijing claims the island as its own and was irked by the announcement of a pro-Taiwan caucus in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, in August, Newsweek reported at the time. It was a response to the democratic island's material and moral support for Ukraine as it battled Russia's ongoing invasion.
Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik, one of the group's members, traveled to Taipei this week to express her gratitude and to drum up further support for Ukraine's resistance. Rudik leads the pro-European, liberal Holos party.
She met with Taiwanese counterparts who officially constituted their own pro-Ukraine caucus earlier in October. In remarks at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's single-chamber parliament, Rudik said Tuesday that the Rada's group was "in the process of being registered."
"I am so thankful for Taiwanese support. We know your support—we hear it, we see it, we feel it," she said, referencing Taipei's financial backing, material aid and high-tech export controls on Russia.
Clearly aware of Taiwan's own position in the face of a territorially ambitious China, Rudik urged the island's leaders and public to prepare for the worst.
"Nobody actually believed they would attack," Rudik said of the Kremlin. "No matter how impossible you think things are, you need to get ready."
"There is no being in between of things. You have to choose sides, you have to make strong decisions, you have to make sure that your people understand, are united, and support each other," she said.
Like Rudik, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's wartime president, has been intimately involved in foreign affairs and international outreach. However, he has never mentioned Taiwan and is cautious when discussing China.
In recent months, Zelensky has expressed frustration at Beijing's lack of public backing for Kyiv. But he avoided direct criticism of the Chinese leadership and said preventing the flow of material support from China to Russia was a priority.
Ukraine, like most countries in the world, doesn't have official relations with Taiwan. It established formal diplomatic ties with China 30 years ago.
Beijing, for its part, doesn't oppose foreign economic or cultural exchanges with Taiwan, but the fostering of political ties with Taipei is another matter, the Chinese foreign ministry told Newsweek in June.
In an interview with Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency, Rudik said Kyiv would maintain its "one China" policy but acknowledged her visit to Taipei would likely cause displeasure in Beijing.
The Ukrainian lawmaker's trip also included her participation at the 11th Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, an event opened by President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan.
"Taiwan is proud to play a role in the effort to assist the Ukrainians in their struggle to defend their country and freedom," Tsai said.
Rudik said in a tweet on Tuesday that Taiwan had contributed to the rebuilding of Ukraine by sending $500,000 each to the cities of Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Bucha, and $3 million to Kyiv.
On Wednesday, Joseph Wu, Taiwan's foreign minister, announced an expanded aid budget of $56 million to help reconstruct schools and hospitals in Ukraine.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more