A group, led by Bundestag member Peter Heidt of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), was welcomed by Taiwan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ming-Yen Tsai as it arrived at Taoyuan international airport. The visit was set to end on Wednesday. Heidt said the visit was part of the German governing coalition's commitment to "support democratic countries," adding that a major concern was that China was "willing to annex Taiwan, if necessary by force," according to a statement sent to dpa. "China's threatening gestures should not keep us from visiting and supporting Taiwan as a state, that shares our values of democracy and freedom," Heidt said. Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contacts between Taiwan and other countries. A group from the Berlin-Taipei parliamentary friendship group in the German Bundestag visited Taiwan earlier in October. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's spokesperson Xavier Chang said on Sunday that closer partnership between Taiwan and Germany will further help strengthen global democratic resilience. Heidt said that the trip aims to deepen bilateral relations between Taiwan and Germany. Referring to Taiwan's leading role in the production of semiconductors that for economic reasons, "Taiwan's independence is extremely important for us." "Human rights issues such as the death penalty and the question of how to deal with targeted disinformation campaigns will be on our agenda," Heidt said in a statement. On Sunday, the delegation met with representatives of non-governmental organizations to discuss the death penalty, democracy, rights, and the situation in Hong Kong. In a meeting, visiting German lawmakers learned about Taiwan's steps to abolish capital punishment and the loss of freedom in Hong Kong, Lin Hsin-yi, executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, told dpa. A visit to Hong Kong was originally planned as part of the German delegation's trip to Asia, which also includes a stop of Japan. However, they dropped their plans for Hong Kong due to the authorities in the Chinese special administrative region.