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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 French lawmakers promise support
Representative to France Francois Wu, fifth left, and French lawmakers attend a Lunar New Year banquet at the Taipei Representative Office in Paris on Wednesday. Photo: CNA
WATCHING CHINA: Taiwan’s envoy to France said that because Taiwan is a leader in semiconductor manufacturing, maintaining the ‘status quo’ is in everyone’s interest
By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with CNA
Nearly 30 French lawmakers on Wednesday pledged to safeguard democracy and stand with Taiwan during a Lunar New Year banquet held by the Taipei Representative Office in France.
The lawmakers included Alain Richard, who heads the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group, and Eric Bothorel, chairman of the French National Assembly’s France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.
The parliamentary diplomacy promoted by French lawmakers is crucial to peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait, Representative to France Francois Wu （吳志中） told attendees.
Wu thanked the French Senate and National Assembly for in 2021 passing motions that support Taiwan’s international participation, as well as a pledge to deepen ties with Taiwan that French and Australian officials issued in Paris on Monday during their Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultations meeting.
Hopefully the government and parliament of France would continue to issue statements and pass resolutions to call on Beijing not to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
As Taiwan is a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, maintaining the “status quo” is “in the interests of all parties,” he said.
The representative office is dedicated to promoting exchanges between Taiwan and France, he said.
The World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce is to hold a meeting in Paris from April 14 to 16, with about 800 members to introduce potential business and investment opportunities, Wu said.
Richard said that people in France have been paying more attention to Taiwanese issues and taking a more friendly attitude toward Taiwan due to its success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and impressive economic performance.
In the face of China’s military intimidation against Taiwan, the French Senate would continue to urge the French government to help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and safeguard democratic values, he said.
Richard in November last year told National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong （吳政忠）, who was leading a delegation to Europe, that the Senate’s Taiwan group would continue to facilitate bilateral exchanges.
Bothorel said that in addition to Taiwan’s geopolitical significance, there were lessons to learn from its efforts to reconfigure supply chains, the economy and trade, as well as its cultural, educational and ecological transformation.
He would lead the National Assembly’s Taiwan group to safeguard the values of freedom and human rights that are shared by the two countries, he said.
“We will stand alongside Taiwan, and will continue the path of our renewed and strengthened cooperation,” he wrote on Twitter after the banquet.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
