France is focusing on enhancing economic cooperation with Taiwan, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy, French Office in Taipei Director Franck Paris said on Friday evening.
Cooperation with Taiwan in AI and energy would be a “priority” as France seeks to strengthen bilateral economic ties, Paris said at a Bastille Day celebration event in Taipei.
The French office is actively working to facilitate exchanges between start-ups and universities from the two sides, Paris said, without going into detail.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“We stand alongside Taiwan to achieve [its] ambition to become the leading AI island,” he said, alluding to President William Lai’s (賴清德) policy pledge to support the development of the AI industry in Taiwan.
Friday’s celebration, heavily focused on the upcoming Paris Olympics, was attended by many government officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
In his remarks, Lin lauded the “strong parliamentary support for Taiwan” in France, adding that the number of members in the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group has increased from about 20 in July 2018 to 63.
The minister added that he looks forward to further collaborations between the two sides on semiconductors, renewable energy and AI under a scientific cooperation deal, referring to the Science and Technology Cooperation Convention signed between the two nations last November.
The French Office in Taipei represents France’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS