Taiwan welcomes planned visit by French senators in October

Alain Richard is expected to lead a delegation to the island despite a warning from Beijing not to engage in official exchanges with Taipei

Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman says details of the trip are still being worked out

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Senator Alain Richard is expected to lead a French delegation to Taiwan from October 4 to 11. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Published: 6:00pm, 21 Sep 2021Updated: 9:25pm, 21 Sep 2021

Taiwan has welcomed a planned visit by French senators next month that is set to go ahead despite opposition from Beijing.

Senator Alain Richard, a former defence minister, is expected to lead a delegation to Taiwan from October 4 to 11. The trip is certain to irk Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as part of its territory and has warned Richard not to engage in official exchanges with Taipei, fearing politicians from other European countries could follow suit.

Richard, head of the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group, plans to make the trip with the group’s vice-presidents, Max Brisson and Andre Vallini, and secretary Olivier Cadic, French media outlet La Lettre A reported on Monday.

Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou on Tuesday said the government “enthusiastically” welcomed the delegation and that details of the visit were still being worked out.

Richard told Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency in March, when the plan was revealed, that the main purpose of the visit was to see how Taiwan had handled the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic progress. He said they would also discuss France and Taiwan’s regional and global strategy.

France does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Ou noted that Richard was going ahead with the trip despite opposition from the Chinese ambassador to France.