【College of International Affairs News】

On the 18th of this month, the College of International Affairs, in cooperation with the German Institute Taipei, invited Mr. Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), to deliver a speech at NCCU on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war and European politics.

Kiesewetter currently serves as Deputy Chair of the German Bundestag’s Intelligence Oversight Committee and as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He served in the German Federal Armed Forces for more than 20 years, and participated in overseas missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Following his military service, he also worked at the German Federal Ministry of Defence, the Council of the European Union, and NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). He therefore brings extensive experience in defence, foreign affairs, and intelligence. This marks his third visit to Taiwan and his first visit to a university campus in Taiwan, where he met and exchanged views with students and scholars.

In the opening remarks, Professor Yeh-Chung Lu, Dean of the College of International Affairs and Deputy Executive Director of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, first thanked Representative Kiesewetter for making the trip to Taiwan. He noted that the Russia-Ukraine war is not only a severe test of global democratic governance, but also highlights the importance of deepening cooperation among democracies. In the face of economic coercion and hybrid warfare by authoritarian states, strategic coordination among democratic countries and civil society is essential to strengthening shared values such as economic prosperity, supply-chain resilience, democracy, and the rule of law. Dean Lu also encouraged students to recognize that, amid an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, Taiwan, Germany, and other democratic partners should learn from one another and work together to strengthen resilience.

In his speech, Representative Kiesewetter stated that “the Russia-Ukraine war poses a greater challenge to democracy than any conflict in the past.” He argued that the war has compelled Germany and other democratic countries to reconsider their strategic cultures. In the postwar period, Germany took “never again war” and “never again National Socialism” as two central historical lessons, which contributed to a tendency to exercise restraint in the use of military force. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated that peace, freedom, and national self-determination cannot be taken for granted. If democratic countries fail to demonstrate their determination to defend their values, aggressors may continue testing their limits. Kiesewetter therefore argued that Germany must gradually move away from a security mindset that relies excessively on protection by other countries and rebuild credible defence capabilities and the will to deter aggression. This issue also extends to changes in transatlantic relations. Kiesewetter noted that Germany remains highly dependent on the United States for logistics and weapons supplies.

However, as the United States increasingly shifts its strategic focus toward the Indo-Pacific, European countries must also assume greater responsibility for their own security. Comparing recent defence budgets in Taiwan and Germany, he noted that the German parliament is seeking to push defence spending above 3 percent of GDP, while recognizing that Taiwan, which likewise faces security threats from a neighbouring country, has already exceeded 3 percent, demonstrating a stronger commitment to defence. However, contemporary security threats are no longer confined to traditional military conflict. Kiesewetter further pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine war involves hybrid warfare across military, informational, economic, and social domains. In addition to conventional military force, Russia has sought to erode social trust through cyberattacks, cognitive warfare, and election interference. For example, the so-called “Matrjoschka” operation that emerged during recent German elections sought to discredit candidates through methods including fabricated videos and allegations of criminal conduct.

Beyond foreign information warfare, German democracy also faces the challenge of domestic political polarization. In recent years, support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen significantly in several eastern German states. For example, the party received approximately 44 percent of the vote in the 2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election.

In addressing the pressures facing democratic institutions both domestically and internationally, Kiesewetter quoted the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “What is most suffocating is not evil, but stupidity. When stupidity combines with tolerance, it can destroy the cohesion of a society.” He further called for continued debate rather than abandoning dialogue out of fear of conflict with forces that challenge democracy, arguing that sustained dialogue is essential to rebuilding public trust in government.

Security challenges also extend into the economic sphere. Kiesewetter argued that Germany’s challenge in dealing with China is not whether it can “decouple” overnight, but whether it has the determination to bear the costs of adjustment and genuinely pursue “de-risking.” German companies in industries such as automobiles, machinery, chemicals, and information technology are deeply integrated with the Chinese market and supply chains, making it difficult for them to rapidly shift production to alternative locations. At the same time, Europe’s dependence on rare earths and other critical raw materials could become a source of political leverage in times of crisis.

He specifically referred to China’s Dual Circulation strategy, introduced in 2020, which places the domestic market at the centre while maintaining mutual support between domestic and international markets. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, he argued that China has adopted a dual-track approach to advancing its interests: on the one hand, it has maintained cooperation with Russia, gaining access to inexpensive energy and raw materials while making Russia increasingly dependent on China; on the other hand, it has maintained economic ties with Ukraine and Europe, using differences in Western positions on support for Ukraine as an opportunity to expand its influence. Therefore, de-risking is not merely a matter of corporate adjustment. Germany and Europe must diversify their supply chains and strengthen cooperation with democratic partners in order to reduce the possibility that economic dependencies can be weaponized.

Toward the end of his speech, Kiesewetter extended these lessons to Taiwan’s security. He argued that Taiwan must increase its own strategic importance so that any blockade, gray-zone coercion, or military aggression would entail extremely high military, economic, diplomatic, and political costs. This requires not only conventional military capabilities, but also asymmetric warfare capabilities, artificial intelligence and unmanned systems, energy and supply-chain security, civil defence, information resilience, and stronger connections with democratic partners. Taiwan should regard whole-of-society resilience as an integral part of its defence system and enhance its ability to withstand authoritarian pressure through technology, democratic governance, and international cooperation.

The Q&A session was lively and engaging. Representative Kiesewetter responded extensively to the students’ enthusiastic questions, leading to a highly interactive and substantive exchange. During the session, Kiesewetter also addressed the recently reported drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport (Flughafen Leipzig/Halle), which has attracted considerable attention in Germany. On August 4, a drone carrying explosives was discovered inside the airport’s restricted area near several Ukrainian cargo aircraft. At the beginning of this month, the German government stated that police and intelligence investigations had pointed to Russian involvement. It subsequently announced the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the termination of the Russian House in Berlin, while also strengthening entry controls on Russian citizens and related sanctions. This marked the first time Germany had faced what it regarded as a Russian attack on its territory with such a clearly articulated response. The Russia-Ukraine war has undoubtedly taught Taiwan a valuable lesson: in the face of highly asymmetric military and security pressures, Taiwan should not only strengthen its conventional military defence, but also learn how to enhance intelligence capabilities, cybersecurity, civil defence, economic security, and international cooperation, while considering how the resilience of a democratic society can be transformed into an effective deterrent.