Paris, Oct. 14 (CNA) French journalist Arnaud Vaulerin lauded President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as an “atypical” leader who opened up Taiwan to the world in his latest publication “Taïwan, la Présidente et la guerre.”
In an interview with CNA Thursday about his latest publication, Vaulerin, who works at Libération, a French publication, said Tsai has successfully maneuvered Taiwan into the center of the international community during the past eight years and has made people realize that Taiwan is about so much more than “quarrels between Chinese people.”
“She has not made any mistakes in diplomacy, which is rare, but at the same time she has not been weak,” Vaulerin said, citing how Tsai had not accepted the “1992 consensus” or explicitly specified that Taiwan should declare independence.
“When facing pressures from China and the U.S., she has never made a wrong move,” Vaulerin said.
He said he first started paying close attention to Taiwan in 2016 while he was working as a correspondent in Japan and witnessing the increasing pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was putting on Taiwan.
Vaulerin said he first had the idea to write a book about Taiwan in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and former U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which triggered massive Chinese military drills surrounding the country.
He decided to focus his book on the theme of Tsai, whom he believed foreign readers were not that familiar with, because of her crucial role.
At the same time, Vaulerin said the book would also explore Taiwan’s diplomacy, national defense, and economy over the past decade.
From his perspective, Vaulerin said the Tsai administration has sent four clear messages to the world. First, that Taiwan wants to maintain the status quo and it is Beijing that wants to change it by force.
Second, despite challenges, Taiwan can and will prevail. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, although Taiwan was excluded by the World Health Organization (WHO), it still became a model for how to fight the virus effectively.
Third, Vaulerin said, as a European, it was clear to him that Taiwan wants to develop a closer relationship with Europe, and that “Tsai has opened up Taiwan’s road to Europe.”
Fourth, Vaulerin said, Tsai has led the way in helping the world understand that Taiwan is made up of a variety of cultures, for example, different aboriginal cultures, and that it has also been shaped by different waves of colonization and immigration.
“Bringing these messages to the world is an impressive achievement,” Vaulerin said, “and of course, members of the public also play an important role in that.”
Describing Tsai as an “atypical” politician, Vaulerin said, “She may originally come across as uncharismatic, unlike Aung San Suu Kyi or Hillary Clinton, but she’s very calm and rational.”
The journalist laughed and said it was impressive to see Tsai, who chose not to marry and lives with her pets, standing alone and facing “all the men in suits at China’s 20th Party Congress.”
Vaulerin said that since publication he had received lots of positive reviews. Although the book was not an autobiography or a piece of academic research, Vaulerin said he had interviewed nearly 30 scholars, researchers, and Taiwanese politicians and staff in the Presidential Office before and during his writing.
“The main goal is to make it easy for French people to read, and to help them understand how Taiwan, under the leadership of Tsai, has developed in the past eight years, as well as the issues it faces today,” the journalist said.
In terms of tensions in the Taiwan Strait, Vaulerin said Taiwan is the most energetic democracy in Asia, and that Taiwan is also crucial to the world economy. If a war took place, it would lead to global economic disaster, Vaulerin added.
Meanwhile, with the eruption of war between Israel and Hamas, the French journalist said Taiwan has to be careful as China may seek to take advantage of the situation while the world is focusing on the Middle East.
Regarding the issue, Vaulerin said that is why he chose to use one of former Czech President Václav Havel’s most famous quotes in the book’s preface: “The only lost cause is one we give up on before we enter the struggle.”
Vaulerin said Czechia had also faced pressure from the Soviet Union 30 years ago, but its persistence meant it withstood the challenges.
Although Taiwan faces a constant threat from China, Vaulerin said the country must continue its own resistance.
