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France only against unilateral action, ministry says

France does not oppose Taiwan's first national referendum on March 20 but disagrees with any votes that might change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) quoted its French counterpart as saying yesterday.

Chiou Jong-nan (邱榮男), Tai-wan's de facto ambassador to Paris, met with officials of the French foreign ministry, including Director of Asia-Pacific Directorate Thierry Dana, on Tuesday to seek clarification on President Jacques Chirac's condemnation of Taiwan's referendum plans.

At a state banquet honoring visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Monday night, Chirac made scathing remarks about Taiwan's referendum, calling the vote "a grave error."

According to the explanation given by the French foreign ministry, Chirac was not referring specifically to the March defensive referendum proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), which is slated to be held on the same day as the presidential election.

The French ministry told Chiou that Chirac was referring to any referendum that would have sufficient impact to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, said MOFA spokesman Richard Shih (石瑞琦).

"That is why both Chirac and France's foreign ministry have never, in their open statements about Taiwan's referendum, specified that they oppose the March vote," Shih said.

Admitting that they favor the "one-China" principle, officials in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged China and Taiwan to conduct open dialogues.

"What France opposes is unilateral actions that may destroy peace in the Taiwan Strait. France opposes any referendum on Taiwan's independence," the French ministry said.

French diplomats told Chiou that they understood the referendum was a sensitive issue and that they have seriously studied Chen's statements about Taiwan's referendum agenda. They said that a Taiwanese delegation had delivered a presentation on the referendum plan during a visit to France earlier this month, and that their government has taken this presentation into account.

Meanwhile, National Security Council Chairman Wei Che-ho (魏哲和) and Council for Cultural Affairs Chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) have canceled planned trips to France as a result of Chirac's remarks.

Shih said there was currently no plan to halt exchanges between Taiwan and France.
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