President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday awarded French Senator Alain Richard with a national medal in recognition of his contribution to the development of relations between his country and Taiwan.
Richard, who heads the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group, was awarded the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, a civilian order that can be conferred on citizens or foreign nationals.
At the award ceremony in the Presidential Office in Taipei, Tsai said Richard had “pioneered” exchanges between Taiwan and France for many years, blazing a trail for the development of bilateral ties.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Presidential Office
Tsai said it was heartwarming to see that Richard, along with other members of the Taiwan Friendship Group, was visiting Taiwan for the third time, despite external pressure.
Richard’s visit to Taiwan is like the return of “family members in France,” she said.
The French Senate has continuously been a great advocate for the development of relations between Taiwan and France, and the current visit by Richard and other senators is proof of its support, Tsai said.
Two milestones in the exchanges between Taiwan and France were initiated by the French Senate, Tsai said, citing its passage of a resolution in May to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and its invitation in 2019 for Taiwanese legislators to visit France.
In Richard’s acceptance speech, he said he was dedicating the honor to all members of the French Senate who approved his trip to Taiwan and passed the resolution on Taiwan’s international participation.
“Like many other countries, we support Taiwan,” Richard said, adding that Taiwan has “contributed greatly” in many areas internationally, including the application of healthcare technology and preservation of harmony in the international community.
Prior to Richard’s five-day visit to Taiwan, Beijing had repeatedly voiced its objections, with Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野) in February writing a letter to Richard, saying the visit would “clearly violate the one-China principle and send the wrong signal to pro-independence forces in Taiwan.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hailed the trip as “symbolizing the insistence of Taiwan and France, as democratic partners, in upholding free and democratic values.”
Additional reporting by AFP
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS