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
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
A magnitude 6 earthquake last night at 9:11pm struck off northeastern Yilan County, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The earthquake’s epicenter was located in waters between Toucheng Township (頭城) and Turtle Island (Gueishan Island, 龜山島), about 22.1km northeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 112km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Yilan’s Dongshan (冬山) and Nanao (南澳) townships and Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. It measured 3 in other areas of Yilan and Taipei, as
RSS