Taiwan is building ties with European cities and regions to get around its blocked official diplomacy — a slow but real win for Taipei, and a headache for Beijing.

• Taiwan now has 33 partnerships with European cities, towns, and regional governments, with Poland leading and Germany close behind.
• European local governments want practical gains: chip know-how, smart manufacturing, and less dependence on China.
• TSMC's new plant in Dresden has already pulled that city into training and industry deals with Kaohsiung and Hsinchu.
• China's pressure still works in places — Edinburgh dropped a planned pact with Kaohsiung after warnings of "serious consequences," while Prague cut Beijing loose in 2019 and partnered with Taipei instead.
• Taiwan lags far behind its US and Japan networks, partly because its community in Europe is small — only about 8,000 Taiwanese live in Germany, the largest group.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan to push for deeper, results-driven partnerships rather than new symbolic sister-city signings, using smart-city forums and the Pact of Free Cities to reach more European mayors.