French office says position on Taiwan 'not changed'
ROC Central News Agency
04/12/2023 10:51 PM
Taipei, April 12 (CNA) France's position on Taiwan "has not changed," the French representative office in Taipei told local media on Wednesday, just days after French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned against Europe being dragged into a war between the United States and China over Taiwan.
The French government has been "in favor of peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait and such position "has never changed," said the French Office in Taipei (FOT), which represents Paris' interest in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
At the same time, France has advocated the rule of law and the freedom of navigation, the office said, adding that Paris was "deeply aware"of its "global responsibilities."
Earlier on Wednesday, the office also said in a social media post that the French government's position on Taiwan remains "constant."
"France and its partners underline the importance of the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and call for the peaceful settlement of cross-strait issues," the office said in the post.
The office's comments came a few days after Macron said in an interview that "Europe has no interest in an acceleration [of acrisis] on Taiwan" and that it should pursue a strategy independent of both Washington and Beijing.
"The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and adapt to the American rhythm or a Chinese overreaction," Macron said in the interview with Politico, Les Echos and Franceinfo when he was travelling from Beijing to Guangzhou on Friday.
The president's remarks have been criticized by some scholars and politicians in the U.S. and Europe as being too accommodating of China, at a time when Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan.
Macron's finance minister and a member of the European parliament, however, defended him.
They were quoted by the Financial Times as saying that France need not be against China even as it is allied with the U.S. and that what France wanted to do was help bring down tensions in the Taiwan Strait and that it, along with the European Union, could help avoid war by playing the role of a "balancing power."
After Macron concluded his trip to China from April 5-8, Beijing on Saturday launched three days of military exercises around Taiwan, in response to a meeting between Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
More than 30 parliamentarians from mostly European Union member states have signed up to a statement criticizing Macron's "ill-judged remarks" had sent a signal of "indifference" over Taiwan.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of the Republican Party also told CNN that "if in fact Macron speaks for all of Europe, and their position now is they're not going to pick sides between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, then maybe we shouldn't be taking sides [in Russia's war on Ukraine], either."
Rubio said the U.S. had spent "a lot of our taxpayers' money" in helping the Ukrainian troops fight against Russian forces.
Speaking with CNA, Éric Bothorel, a member of the French National Assembly from the ruling party, Renaissance, said he was not able to interpret Macron's comments although they might be an effort to deescalate tensions.
However, he said, considering the important role Taiwan plays in the global electronics industry, a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would have a severe impact on the entire world, including France.
He went on to say the relationship between Taiwan and France is notonly built solid on technological or economic interests, but also shared values such as democracy.
Bothorel, who serves as chairman of the National Assembly's France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, said France should continue to strengthen its ties with Taiwan and that he would visit Taiwan again soon to show his support for the country.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
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