A delegation of French lawmakers led by Francois de Rugy, chair of the French National Assembly’s France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, yesterday arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit during which the group is to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The group landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 8:36am, where they were greeted by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光).
Upon arrival, De Rugy told reporters that he was happy to visit Taiwan, and hoped to discuss critical economic and cultural issues with Tsai and other officials.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Representative Office in France
“We wish to have exchanges on all dimensions of the relations between Taiwan, the EU and France on the economy and culture and all the issues at stake for our countries,” he said.
The other members of the delegation are members of parliament Jean-Luc Reitzer, Frederique Dumas, Jean Francois Mbaye, Aina Kuric and Jean-Louis Bricout, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release on Tuesday.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) on Tuesday said that Tsai would meet with the delegation today at the Presidential Office.
De Rugy’s visit comes less than three months after a five-member delegation from the French Senate visited Taiwan in early October, which reflected the strong friendship between Taiwan and France, as this is the first time two parliamentary delegations from the same European country had visited Taiwan within a few months, Chang said.
The group is also to meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other senior government officials.
They are to exchange views on post-COVID-19 economic recovery, digital technology and security in the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
De Rugy, a former president of the French National Assembly, is a long-time supporter of Taiwan, and has worked to improve relations between the two nations since he became president of the France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group in May last year, it said.
The French National Assembly last month passed a resolution proposed by De Rugy calling on the French government to offer concrete support for Taiwan’s participation in world organizations, six months after the French Senate adopted a similar resolution, the ministry said.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) reiterated that “China firmly opposes any forms of official and political exchanges between Taiwan and countries having diplomatic ties with China.”
Zhao called on countries to “earnestly abide by the one China principle.”
In a commentary, the Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times called the visit “an insignificant stunt by trivial French politicians,” citing a Chinese expert.
Additional reporting by AP
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton