In a front-page article on Saturday, the French newspaper Le Monde lashed out at the French government for refusing to issue a visa to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for fear of angering China.
The visa would have allowed President Chen to receive an international award in November at a European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg.
In February, Chen was awarded the 2001 Prize for Freedom by Liberal International, a London-based association of major liberal political parties from more than 60 countries.
The association initially planned to present the award to Chen in person in Copenhagen, but had to look for alternative venues after the Danish government, buckling under pressure from Beijing, refused to issue a visa to Chen.
The French foreign ministry has agreed in principle to allow first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) receive the award on her husband's behalf -- on condition that Wu will not pass through Paris, that she leave France from the Charles de Gaulle international airport immediately after accepting the award and that she must keep a low profile -- in other words not speak to reporters -- according to the Le Monde report.
In the past, the French government set aside political issues and allowed passage for the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the report said.
In an interview with the Taipei Times in August, Liberal International Vice President Hans van Baalen said that he found the travel restrictions on Taiwanese leaders unacceptable.
"Today they are a democratically elected president and vice president, and they are in prison again. They are now imprisoned in their own country," said van Baalen.
Previous recipients of the Prize for Freedom award include Czech President Vaclav Havel, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Hong Kong Democratic Party leader Martin Lee (李柱銘).
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