The government yesterday thanked the French National Assembly for adopting a resolution on Monday in support of Taiwan’s international participation, following a similar resolution passed by the French Senate in May.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised the resolution’s passage as “historic” and as demonstrating the concrete support of both chambers of the French parliament for Taiwan’s participation in international affairs.
Taiwan and France have shared a long-standing partnership characterized by a high level of trust, and based on the shared values of democracy, freedom and human rights, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of Francois Wu
Passed on Monday in a 39-2 vote with three abstentions, the non-legally binding resolution calls on the French government to offer concrete support for Taiwan’s participation in agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, Interpol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the World Health Assembly.
After the resolution was passed, French Secretary of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne reiterated the French government’s support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Representative to France Francois Wu (吳志中) told reporters that the adoption of a pro-Taiwan resolution in the French National Assembly is a “major historical breakthrough” for Taiwan-France relations.
Photo courtesy of Francois Wu
Among the 298 resolutions proposed during the past four-and-a-half years in the French National Assembly, only 54 entered the voting stage, of which 37 were passed and adopted, Wu said.
Taiwan-France relations have been warming in the past few years, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said.
As recently as October, a bipartisan delegation led by French Senator Alain Richard traveled to Taiwan, despite warnings from Beijing, Hsieh said.
This friendship is “no accident,” but an inevitable expression of their shared values of freedom and democracy, she added.
The DPP sincerely thanks the French Senate and government for their recognition and support for Taiwan’s international participation, Hsieh said.
She also extended the party’s thanks to and all of the nation’s diplomats, whose hard work has permitted the friendship between the two countries to reach new heights.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding