French Senator Alain Richard said he would approve if Taiwan wanted to change the name of its representative office in France to include the word “Taiwan”, rather than “Taipei”. He made the remarks in an interview with Radio Taiwan International. Richard is the chair of the Taiwan Friendship Group in the French Senate.
He explained that whenever a group of people wants to use a certain name and another group imposes a different name on them, it is a negative and threatening situation. He likened it to the Kurds in Turkey. Richard said if Taiwan wanted to change the name of its representative offices in Europe, EU officials would need to discuss the timing, and it would be a “fuss” with Beijing.
Richard visited Taiwan last month despite opposition from Beijing. He said it was important to make the trip to show the importance of Taiwan to his people and to show support for Taiwan.
In May, Richard proposed a resolution, which was passed in the French Senate, that supports Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization. President Tsai Ing-wen later awarded him a national award for his promotion of Taiwan-French ties.
The French senator said he would like to see more official visits between Taiwan and French authorities. He said he would also like to see increased cooperation between the two countries in many fields including health and business.