Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Monday called for closer bilateral ties between Taiwan and France, during a meeting with a delegation of visiting French lawmakers at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The delegation was led by French Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and the Armed Forces Senator André Gattolin, with members including André Vallini, vice president of the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group, and senators Étienne Blanc and Annick Jacquemet.
In addition to Lai, who is also the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential nominee, the delegation, which arrived on Sunday, will visit Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Lai described a Gattolin-led effort to have 110 French lawmakers sign a letter backing Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) in March 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence of concrete support from the senator.
While Taiwan was ultimately barred from the WHA in 2020 and all subsequent editions of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual decision-making meeting, Lai noted that the letter had led to the French Senate and National Assembly passing a resolution in 2021 calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in world bodies.
Lai also called for closer cooperation between France and Taiwan, making note of a recent decision of Taiwan-based ProLogium Technology to build a 5.2 billion euro battery factory in Dunkirk as an example.
The vice president said that as like-minded countries pursuing freedom and universal values, Taiwan, France and all democratic countries should align themselves to counter challenges from dictatorial regimes, like in the case of the Russian-Ukraine war.
Lai made note of a pledge by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) last week to donate US$2.5 million to the construction of a bridge in Kyiv, a project to which the Greater Paris métropole has also contributed US$1 million.
The vice president also thanked departing French Office in Taipei Director Jean-François Casabonne-Masonnave for his efforts in enhancing Taiwan-France ties.
For his part, Gattolin, a co-chair of the multinational Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), said the 2020 letter campaign had been very successful.
According to Gattolin, the campaign resulted in an open letter voicing support for Taiwan from the IPAC, an international cross-party coalition of parliamentarians focused on creating a coordinated response to global security, human rights and trade issues, which was signed by 300 lawmakers from 30 countries
Gattolin said a united alignment of lawmakers would create pressure on European governments, which are often divided with regard to Taiwan and China policy.
For instance, Gattolin said, membership of the French Senate’s pro-China group had dropped to 40 senators from the previous 50 to 70, while membership of the pro-Taiwan group had grown from 15 to 42.
As Taiwan has opened a second Taipei Representative Office in Aix-en-Provence, Taiwan’s representative to France, Wu Chih-chung (吳志中), must be credited for his contribution to promoting bilateral links, Gattolin said.
Through Wu’s efforts, more French lawmakers have gained a better understanding of Taiwan while more Taiwanese entrepreneurs have visited France to gain first-hand information, Gattolin added.