Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) met with a French delegation led by Senate vice-president and chair of its Taiwan Friendship Group Alain Richard on Wednesday. The delegation is slated to meet with other high-level officials during its trip including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Chen says that Richard is a longtime friend and supporter of Taiwan and thanks him for his efforts to push for pro-Taiwan policies in France. Chen says that Richard helped usher through a resolution of friendship with Taiwan in the French parliament. He adds that Richard has visited Taiwan three times before and has even been honored with the Order of Propitious Clouds medal by President Tsai. Chen says that France is Taiwan’s fourth biggest trading partner, and expects the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in science and technology.
Senator Richard says that French people are paying more and more attention to Taiwan, and Taiwan’s economy and performance during the pandemic improved the perception of the country. He says that the Senate will soon take up a defense bill, and that French President Emmanuel Macron supports increasing the defense budget as France hopes to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The delegation is the second French delegation to visit Taiwan in as many weeks, and comes after controversial comments made by French President Macron earlier this month. Macron questioned whether accelerating a conflict over Taiwan by following the United State’s aggressive stance toward China was in Europe’s interest. Macron later made follow-up comments stating that France supports the status quo and the one-China policy.