New Representative to France Hao Pei-chih (郝培芝) said she would open up more space on the international stage through economic, trade and technology diplomacy based on the foundation laid by her predecessor, Francois Wu (吳志中).
Hao, the nation’s first female representative to France, made the remarks in a media interview on Sunday on the sidelines of an event organized by the Overseas Community Affairs Council.
The former head of the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission assumed her new position on Sept. 1 to fill the vacancy left by Wu, who became deputy minister of foreign affairs last month.
Photo: CNA
Hao said she was feeling a lot of pressure starting the new job, but later found great support from the compatriot communities and colleagues at the representative office in France.
Lauding Wu for having achieved several significant breakthroughs between Taiwan and France, as well as his mastery of French in mainstream media appearances, Hao said her predecessor had elevated Taiwan’s visibility in French society during his tenure.
“Now everyone knows Taiwan and has a very positive perception of Taiwan,” she said.
“Ambassador Wu has set a high threshold. He is a legend and a ceiling. He has performed so well that anyone who follows him will have difficulty” reaching the threshold, she said.
As his successor, Hao said she would continue to expand the room for Taiwan in the diplomatic arena.
Asked about the future direction she will take in promoting Franco-Taiwanese relations, Hao said she would further promote “economic, trade and technological diplomacy.”
While all aspects of France and China are based on diplomatic relations, France knows that Taiwan is an important cooperative partner and it has adopted a “parallel treatment” policy and attitude in many areas toward the two sides across the Taiwan Strait, she said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS