Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent)

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. I am privileged to address the House in his presence. My comments might be a little difficult. I have recently returned from Taiwan, which is an island of democracy in a sea of dictatorship. Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, is one of the four tigers of east Asia, the others being Singapore, South Korea and Shanghai. However, we do not export to Taiwan or import from it. One of the 12 science parks I visited has 2,500 patents and has made $30 billion in a single year. It is crying out for an export-import arrangement with Ireland. What are our plans in this regard? Do we have any plans? Are we silent on the question of exporting to and importing from Taiwan? If so, can it be attributed to the sleeping bear that is China? Such fears would be unfounded because Taiwan has many cross-strait alliances. It does not have any such thoughts. I would like to hear the Tánaiste's opinion on the matter. Does he intend to reopen the Irish office in Taiwan? If the office were reopened, it could be a springboard for all kinds of imports and exports to and from China. When will that happen? Why does the glorification of China ignore Taiwan? How does that fit into our idea of human rights?