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.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS