Taipei, Sept. 7, (dpa/GNA) - A delegation of French parliamentarians arrived in Taipei on Wednesday, the first such visit by representatives of a major European country since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial trip to Taiwan last month.
The cross-party delegation, which is led by Senator Cyril Pellevat, the vice president of the French upper chamber’s European Affairs Committee, arrived for a six-day official visit to the island on the invitation of the Taiwan government. It is the fourth group of French lawmakers coming to Taiwan in the past 12 months.
“The arrival fully demonstrates good friendship between Taiwan and France,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou told dpa on Wednesday.
The delegation is scheduled to meet with Vice President Lai Ching-te, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, and other high-ranking officials to discuss issues including regional security, technological innovation, and the strengthening of industrial supply chains.
In response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August, China held large-scale manoeuvres around Taiwan, followed by new round of military drills.
On August 12, Beijing sanctioned Lithuania’s deputy minister of transport Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė over she made a visit to Taiwan in a bit to improve economic cooperation.
On Tuesday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the situation continued to be tense and that Chinese threats remained, such as the incursion of Chinese military jets, disinformation campaigns, drones and other grey-zone tactics.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contacts between Taiwan and other countries.
GNA