A delegation led by Francois de Rugy, former president of French National Assembly and the chairman of the “France-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group,” is planning to visit the island of Taiwan, in a move which Chinese mainland analysts viewed as an insignificant stunt by trivial French politicians to fool the secessionists in the island, and attract attention for political gains and which goes against Paris’ overall rational China policy.
The island’s “external affairs department” extended in a release on Tuesday a warm welcome for the upcoming visit, while saying the date for the trip has yet to be finalized. It also stressed that the visit would be the second following a delegation of French senators led by Alain Richard in early October, during which members of that delegation held talks with ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader Tsai Ing-wen and other officials in Taipei.
De Rugy initiated the latest bill that encourages the participation of the island of Taiwan in international organizations such as the WHO and the International Criminal Police Organization, and was adopted by the French National Assembly in late November, which had met immediate opposition from the Chinese Embassy in France, as the French move clearly violates the one-China principle, blatantly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and intentionally advocates “Taiwan independence.”
Taiwan has no other status of international law other than as an inalienable part of China. The Chinese central government has already made appropriate arrangements for the participation of the Taiwan region in international cooperation in all fields in accordance with the one-China principle, and relevant international organizations have also confirmed this in resolutions, the Chinese embassy noted.
It is also worth noting that De Rugy had visited the island and met with Tsai in July 2016 as vice president of the French National Assembly.
In sharp contrast to the overall rationality taken by governments of some Western countries over the Taiwan question, a small clique of politicians are reaching out to Taiwan secessionists to elevate their reputation in France, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
De Rugy’s trip falls in this category and the anti-China group of French parliamentarians is using the Taiwan question for their own political interests, Wang noted.
The French government has maintained a positive and pragmatic attitude toward the Taiwan question, mainland analysts said, citing French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent refusal to a “diplomatic boycott” of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by a small number of countries as an example.
A rational Paris will not send large-scale officials of higher rank to the island, Wang said, while warning that China should stay alert and resolutely oppose any higher-than-civil-level exchanges or any country’s attempt to use”relations with Taiwan” as a bargaining chip when dealing with China.
A view of Taipei. Photo:VCG
