French senator visits Taipei despite Beijing’s warning
The head of a French delegation of senators yesterday called Taiwan a “country” during a visit to Taipei, risking fury from China which has strongly protested against the trip.
Alain Richard, a former defence minister, arrived on Wednesday for a fiveday visit despite repeated warnings from the Chinese embassy in Paris.
In a speech after he was conferred a top medal of honour by President Tsai Ing-wen, Mr Richard said Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Paris has been doing “a very good job in representing your country”.
France, like most countries, officially recognises China which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory.
Beijing tries to keep the island isolated on the world stage and baulks at the use of the name Taiwan or any reference to it as a country.
It has ramped up pressure on Ms Tsai’s government since 2016 and has aggressively tried to dissuade politicians from visiting. The Chinese embassy in Paris warned the visit would damage the interests of China, Chinese-French relations and “the image of France”.
Beijing’s envoy wrote a letter to Mr Richard earlier, saying the visit would “clearly violate the one-China principle and send the wrong signal to pro-independence forces in Taiwan”.