Taiwan should push to elevate the level of government exchanges with France as a means to break through the stalemate in relations with other European countries, Kuo Wei-fan (
However, political analysts said despite friendly relations between the two countries, any changes in the short term would be difficult due to the French adherence to realpolitik in international relations.
According to Kuo, France is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner in Europe.
Taiwan is running a US$3.95 billion trade deficit with France due to the island's purchase of French-made arms and military equipment, including 60 Mirage-2000 jet fighters and six Lafayette-class patrol vessels, he said.
"Taiwan-France relations have improved in the past two years, and dialogue between government officials on both sides have become more institutionalized," Kuo said.
He highlighted restrictions on high-level Taiwan government officials traveling to European countries and suggested that the country should aim to enhance ties with France in order to push for a breakthrough in relations with other EU nations.
"France has a leadership role in the EU and among countries who are signatories of the Shengen Agreement. It should be our lobbying target to improve such restrictions," Kuo said.
Political analyst Chang Tai-lin (
"French willingness to sell arms to Taiwan does not necessary mean they want to elevate relations with us," Chang said.
"The French are very careful in conducting diplomacy. They are very friendly with Taiwan personally, but prefer to keep it very low-key," he said.
Taiwan-France relations have made headlines recently in a corruption scandal involving former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who received money from a student health fund, allegedly for legal work he has never undertaken.
The scandal also raised questions over a France-Taiwan association involved in arms sales to the island, to which his name has linked.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique