I am very pleased to address the readers of Taipei Times on Bastille day, symbol of aspirations which found their very first translation in the declaration of Human Rights of 1789. 2002 began with the release of very satisfactory figures for French-Taiwanese economic bilateral ties. They confirmed that Taiwan is, as regards the cumulated amount of trade, one of our main partners in Asia. French exports to Taiwan strongly increased in 2001 to reach euro 2.14 billion, making the cover rate of our bilateral trade almost balanced. It is one of the best results ever reached, due mainly to a new field of cooperation and success in transport and aeronautic sectors. French sales in the automobile sector increased by more than 33 percent last year. New industrial partnerships have been forged. One of the most significant examples is the alliance forged in April 2002 between TSMC and French ST Microelectronics, Philips and Motorola for the setting-up, close to Grenoble, of a pilot plant dedicated to the development of a new generation of electronic chips.
The accession of Taiwan to the World Trade Organization and the possible signature of the government procurement agreement on one side, the strengthening of the European process and the launching of the Euro on the other side, bring new opportunities that our companies have already seized or are ready to seize. The recent creation of the "Invest in France Agency" (AFII) and the establishment of a liaison office in Taipei, within the Economic Department of the French Institute, will contribute to a better knowledge of investment opportunities in France and, thus, in Europe i.a. in the fields of new technologies of information and communication and of biotechnologies.
More than 130 French firms are based in Taiwan, mainly in the fields of industry and services. They employ more than 22,000 people. In this respect, the European school in Taipei is of great significance for French families and for the companies which have decided to work in Taiwan.
France considers culture as an important factor to develop the understanding between people and strengthen the dialogue between cultures and civilizations, through which humanity is progressing and the diversity of human experience can be preserved Taiwan contributes greatly to this dialogue. The French institute in Taipei has decided to bring its own contribution for instance through the support of exhibitions of high quality such as "300 hundred years of French paintings" held at the National Palace Museum or the design exhibition "more or less" at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. New projects are under consideration such as an exhibition dedicated to the work of the famous architect Le Corbusier and an exhibition on Matisse. The people to people contacts and the links between experts in the fields of cinema and media are steadily growing as shown by the recent Taipei film festival dedicated to Paris and the growing number of joint-productions, like Tsai Ming-liang's movie "What time is it there" or Hou Hsiao-hsien "Millenium Mambo."
France is keen to respond to the vitality and the curiosity towards France of the Taiwanese youth which can be noticed from the 30 percent increase in the number of students going to France. The first European forum of education held this year in Taipei, the establishment of a branch of the Edufrance Agency to facilitate the access to French universities and the revamping of the Alliance Francaise are there to address the aspirations to "more France."
In this respect, it is worth noticing that the French speaking community (the francophony) in Taiwan is progressing at a pace which is among the fastest in Asia. At the same time the links between laboratories and between universities are developing notably in the field of genomics and biotechnologies.
A good way to sustain a very fruitful cooperation and to pave the way to the future!
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