Politicians change their stances with the same ease as they flip the pages of a book. This is as true today as it was in the past. Only a few months ago, French President Jacques Chirac raised the moral banner high as he took the lead in criticizing a US-led war in Iraq. Chirac never forgot to mention "principles" and to pose as a savior of small nations the world over. Now he wears a different face as Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The Chirac administration has also proposed the EU lift its arms embargo against China. Fortunately, however, the proposal was rejected by many other EU nations. People familiar with Franco-Taiwan relations were not surprised by Chirac's actions, since he has always been a good friend of China. Franco-Taiwan relations have not improved since he came to power. For three years in a row, France spoke against a proposal aimed at allowing Taiwan to participate in the UN. It has also repeatedly opposed Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization. The purpose of such actions can only be to echo China's stance on Taiwan.
Chirac's remarks on the March 20 referendum verge on cruelty and are tantamount to supporting a belligerent China pointing its missiles at small Taiwan. He also wants to sell weapons to China so that the thugs in the Zhongnanhai may use them to deal with dissent. Chirac's China policy is a textbook case of a politician's naked hypocrisy.
No wonder Chen pointed out candidly during a TV interview on Tuesday night that Chirac's remarks reveal his ignorance of democracy, and that such remarks harm France, not him.
Indeed, Chirac's remarks have lowered the status of France, a country steeped in the traditions of freedom, democracy and human rights, to the same level as China's.
France is too far away from Asia, both geographically and culturally. Taiwan is a small country that can hardly satisfy France's needs in terms of business interests. Naturally, it will be difficult to expect France to sympathize with and be friendly to Taiwan. However, people do expect France, as a democratic nation, to have some sympathy for Taiwan's democratization process -- at least to refrain from openly opposing it. Apparently, even this small expectation has come to naught.
This reminds one of a scene just before the World Health Assembly in Geneva last year -- a French-speaking official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gleefully explaining to reporters that, despite speaking against Taiwan's participation in the WHO, France was not really opposing Taiwan's participation but was simply of the opinion that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should gain a consensus on the issue before anything could happen.
The sight of a Taiwanese diplomat defending a France that had snubbed his own country goes a long way toward explaining the unrealistic expectations Taiwan has placed on the Chirac administration.
We can only hope that the people of a country that embraces the values of freedom, democracy and human rights will continue to stand firm on their principles. The future prospects for Franco-Taiwan relations depend as much on France's determination to defend these values as on Taiwan's admiration for these deep and vast French traditions.
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