Taiwan's ruling party is using party-to-party diplomacy in Europe to rally support against China's pressure campaign, a move that's positive for Taiwan's international standing.

• Democratic Progressive Party international affairs director Chen Wen-hao represented the party at the European Democrat Party's annual congress in Athens, speaking on a panel about defending democracy.
• He told European officials Taiwan faces daily pressure below the threshold of war — not just military moves near the island, but economic squeezing and political intimidation from China.
• He highlighted Taiwan's efforts to build island-wide resilience and shift supply chains away from China, framing this as a model other democracies could learn from.
• The invitation itself is being read as a sign European centrist parties see Taiwan's democracy as worth engaging with directly, not just through formal state channels.

Outlook: Taiwan's ruling party plans to keep expanding these direct party-to-party ties with European parties and parliaments as a way around its lack of formal diplomatic recognition.