Marie-Noëlle Battistel, French National Assembly Deputy and Chair of the Assembly’s Taiwan-France Friendship Group, led a delegation to Taiwan this Sunday, meeting Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Tuesday. Chiu is one of several officials meeting with the delegation during their six-day trip, including the President and Foreign Minister.
Addressing the delegation, Chiu said that Taiwan prioritizes maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and is open to dialogue and exchanges with China. He expressed his hope to learn from France’s experience in preventing foreign interference and political infiltration, in addition to deepening bilateral relations with friendly countries to safeguard freedom, human rights, and democratic values.
Battistel said that in 2021, France overwhelmingly passed a resolution supporting Taiwan’s international participation; they have continued to publicly express their support for Taiwan’s participation in organizations such as the WHO. The French Parliament also approved a 2024-2030 Military Programming Law in 2023 in which France promised to defend freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific. Battistel emphasized that protecting Taiwan is protecting the world.