Taiwan’s foreign minister spotlights European ties at Taipei winter festival

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) attended the Taipei European Winter Festival in Xinyi District, which ran from Nov. 27 to 30.

Modeled on a European-style pop-up Christmas market, the festival was organized by the Association des Français de Taiwan, a group dedicated to connecting French speakers in Taiwan through events and supporting their integration into Taiwanese society. The festival featured a variety of food, drinks, and crafts, along with live entertainment.

Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung delivered a brief welcoming speech to kick off the festivities.

Shared values 

During the festival’s opening ceremony, Lin took the stage to thank the organizers. He told the audience that the bond between Taiwan and Europe is rooted in shared values and a cherished way of life, adding that European countries are Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment.

Following Lin, Lutz Güllner, head of the European Economic and Trade Office, took the stage. He noted that the European Union and Taiwan share many common interests and are deepening their cooperation, expressing hope that the event would showcase the opportunities and benefits Europe can offer Taiwan.



During the opening festivities, Lin also sampled Dutch fries, German sausages, Belgian waffles, and other European specialties while greeting visitors. 

Helena Reitberger, Sweden's Representative and de facto ambassador, also attended the opening ceremony. In a LinkedIn post, she reflected on missing the opportunity to serve Swedish food and make new connections at the event, as she had done in previous years. She shared that while Sweden would take a more supportive role this year, it would be returning in 2026.

What's for dinner?

The Taipei European Winter Festival featured a wide variety of stalls, offering a broad selection of European cuisine. Among the offerings were German bratwurst, Belgian waffles, French cheeses, and crêpe bretonne, a traditional pancake dish from the Brittany region in northwest France. The event also showcased a selection of Italian desserts.

Other stalls at the venue showcased a range of European countries. Representatives from Spain, Sweden, and Poland were present, alongside participants from the United Kingdom, Hungary, and the Netherlands. Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Portugal also had booths, offering visitors a broad taste of the continent.

Festival-goers wandered among the booths, sipping warm mulled wine, a beverage uncommon in Taiwanese cuisine, sampling European beers, and exploring a range of handcrafted goods and seasonal products, including chocolates, jams, teas, and honey. Live arts and music added to the festival’s immersive holiday atmosphere.

Lee, a Taipei local, attended the festival's opening night with his girlfriend. He told TCN that they had come to experience a “taste of Europe,” a place he said he missed. Both had visited several European countries, they said.

Another young Taiwanese attendee, Lin, told TCN that Xinyi District was an ideal location for the Taipei European Winter Festival. She explained that it is a popular area where she and her international friends and classmates often go to watch movies, socialize, and relax. With a touch of irony, she added that they might end up supporting the local economy by treating themselves to meals, pastries, and drinks at the festival.



Meanwhile, in Taipei's Zhongshan district

The German Christmas Markets 2025, organized by the German Trade Office Taipei, opened on Friday, Nov. 28, in Taipei's Zhongshan District and ran through the weekend, closing on the evening of Nov. 30.

The market featured more than 90 stalls representing cuisines and products from countries including Ireland, North Africa, Canada, the United States, and Mexico, alongside scheduled artistic performances

Located near the runway of Taipei Songshan Airport, it became the only Christmas market in Taiwan where visitors could watch airplanes fly overhead up close.

The event offered a range of classic German fare, including grilled sausages, curry sausages, traditional pork knuckle, mulled wine, non-alcoholic Christmas fruit punch, German beer, breads, and desserts.

In a Taipei German Markets first, the historic city of Dresden, located in the German state of Saxony, set up a city stall. Josef Goldberger, liaison officer of the Saxon Science Liaison Office Taiwan, wrote on LinkedIn that Taipei would, for the first time, experience Europe’s oldest Christmas market through Dresden’s presence.