The government yesterday sent a congratulatory message to French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election to a second term, and expressed a desire for deeper bilateral relations.
The message was conveyed to Macron, his government and people via the Taiwan representative office in Paris, after the official results of the French presidential runoff election on Sunday were announced, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan is ready to deepen its cooperation with the French government to safeguard stability in the Indo-Pacific region and across the Taiwan Strait, and contribute to rules-based international democratic order, the ministry said.
Photo: Reuters
Macron on Sunday became the first French president in 20 years to win a second term, gaining 58.55 percent of the vote, while challenger Marine Le Pen received 41.45 percent.
Taipei and Paris have enjoyed cordial relations under the shared universal values of democracy and human rights, the ministry said.
Taiwan opened a second French representative office in Aix-en-Provence.
The French government in its Indo-Pacific strategy report this year said that the EU would “continue to develop its already close trade and investment relations with its key partners in global value chains, such as Taiwan.”
The upper and lower houses of the French Parliament last year passed several Taiwan-friendly resolutions and sent delegations to visit Taiwan, the ministry said.
Taiwan Representative to France Francois Wu (吳志中) has been invited several times to attend parliamentary hearings in Paris, it said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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