Two Cabinet members yesterday cancelled scheduled trips to France to show Taiwan's anger over French President Jacques Chirac's denunciation of the "defensive" referendum.
National Science Council (NSC) Chairman Wei Che-ho (魏哲和), on a trip to Europe, removed France from his itinerary and will stay only in Germany the following week to promote scientific collaboration between the two nations.
Council for Cultural Affairs Chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) also canceled a trip to France scheduled for yesterday to Feb 8.
Tchen was originally set to confer awards on Taiwanese students studying in France.
Counselor to the chairwoman Chung Cha-pin (
NSC officials said that, in light of the political turbulence caused by Chirac's comments, it was not an appropriate time for high-ranking officials to visit France.
Three science and technology divisions under the council -- one each in Belgium, Bonn and Paris -- work on scientific collaboration with European countries. High-ranking officials of the council usually visit more than one of the divisions on trips to Europe.
According to NSC deputy chairman Shieh Ching-Jyh (謝清志), Wei cancelled the visit to France because of Chirac's talk.
"Scientific collaboration between Taiwan and France will continue, but whether more effort will be put into new projects remains uncertain at this moment," Shieh said.
"Terminating projects wouldn't change Chirac's stance, so we will consider long-term bilateral collaboration," Shieh said.
The NSC will continue to help academics build close relationships with their counterparts in France, Shieh said.
Taking the France-Taiwan Science Award -- given to outstanding scientists from both sides -- as an example, Shieh said that similar sponsorships would not be terminated.
In past decades, fields involving scientific collaboration have included biotechnology, agriculture, geology, nuclear engineering and electronic engineering.
Shieh said the ROCSAT-2 project, the nation's second satellite jointly built by Taiwan and France, would continue as planned and would not be affected by politics. The satellite is scheduled to be launched late next month in California.
The ROCSAT-2 project, which cost NT$4.7 billion, is one of several projects in which France can participate. France also hopes to persuade Taiwan to buy its Airbus products, Shieh said.
The satellite was built jointly by Taiwan's National Space Program Office and France-based satellite manufacturer Astrium, Europe's No. 1 space company.
The pan-European Astrium, established in 2000, is the result of a merger of Germany-based DASA, France-based Matra-Marconi Space and other European companies. Astrium is a joint venture of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, which owns 80 percent of Airbus.
According to Taipei Times' sources, scientific cooperation between Taiwan and France on ROCSAT2 in 1999 hurt the relationship between France and China, leading to a delay in Beijing's purchasing of Airbus products.
Since the early 1990s, there has been friction over French involvement in Taiwan's major national projects.
Failures included bids involving the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, Taipei Rapid Transit System, Taiwan High Speed Rail Project and the Lafayette frigate scandal.
The Mirage-2000 deal with the Ministry of National Defense was one of a few successful cases.
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang
Also see story:
Chirac's remarks shamed France: Lu
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
RSS