A delegation of French lawmakers led by Francois de Rugy, chair of the French National Assembly’s France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, yesterday arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit during which the group is to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
The group landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 8:36am, where they were greeted by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光).
Upon arrival, De Rugy told reporters that he was happy to visit Taiwan, and hoped to discuss critical economic and cultural issues with Tsai and other officials.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Representative Office in France
“We wish to have exchanges on all dimensions of the relations between Taiwan, the EU and France on the economy and culture and all the issues at stake for our countries,” he said.
The other members of the delegation are members of parliament Jean-Luc Reitzer, Frederique Dumas, Jean Francois Mbaye, Aina Kuric and Jean-Louis Bricout, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a news release on Tuesday.
Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) on Tuesday said that Tsai would meet with the delegation today at the Presidential Office.
De Rugy’s visit comes less than three months after a five-member delegation from the French Senate visited Taiwan in early October, which reflected the strong friendship between Taiwan and France, as this is the first time two parliamentary delegations from the same European country had visited Taiwan within a few months, Chang said.
The group is also to meet with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other senior government officials.
They are to exchange views on post-COVID-19 economic recovery, digital technology and security in the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.
De Rugy, a former president of the French National Assembly, is a long-time supporter of Taiwan, and has worked to improve relations between the two nations since he became president of the France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group in May last year, it said.
The French National Assembly last month passed a resolution proposed by De Rugy calling on the French government to offer concrete support for Taiwan’s participation in world organizations, six months after the French Senate adopted a similar resolution, the ministry said.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) reiterated that “China firmly opposes any forms of official and political exchanges between Taiwan and countries having diplomatic ties with China.”
Zhao called on countries to “earnestly abide by the one China principle.”
In a commentary, the Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times called the visit “an insignificant stunt by trivial French politicians,” citing a Chinese expert.
Additional reporting by AP
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS