The arrival of five French senators in Taipei, this Wednesday, September 7, is the subject of much discussion.
In fact, this is the first visit of European parliamentarians to Taiwan since the arrival, at the beginning of August, of the president of the American House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, which China had perceived as a provocation.
According to the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry, the delegation will stay on the island until September 12.
She will be received by Vice President William Lai, not President Tsai Ing-wen.
However, France is not in the process of making a major shift in its foreign policy, having chosen in 1964 not to recognize Taiwan's independence.
These parliamentary delegations, whether from the Senate or the National Assembly, "
have always existed
", says Antoine Bondaz, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) where he notably directs the Taiwan Program on the security and diplomacy.
The "Senate-Taiwan exchange and study group" was thus founded in 1982 and the "international study group on issues related to the expansion of the Taiwanese economy" of the National Assembly in 1989. Among the latest trips to date, Senator Joël Guerriau led a delegation to Taiwan in June 2022 and former Minister François de Rugy in December 2021.
Regular visits
In recent years, the French delegations have therefore succeeded one another in Taiwan, and vice versa.
"
According to the rules, we send a delegation every two years and we receive one the year we are not leaving
", explains
Le Figaro
Senator Alain Richard, former Minister of Defense in the Jospin government and now President of the "Sénat -Taiwan”, who himself left at the head of a small group in October 2021.
Last July, the President of the Legislative Yuan (the Taiwanese Assembly), Yu Shyi-kun, was welcomed in France by Gérard Larcher and Yaël Braun-Pivet, Presidents of the Senate and of the National Assembly.
Read also Has Taiwan always been Chinese?
"
With Taiwan, there are no exchanges and official meetings
," recalls Antoine Bondaz.
Parliamentarians therefore make it possible to facilitate things on certain cooperation, by passing on or bringing back messages, without committing the government for all that
”.
This parliamentary diplomacy exists with many other countries but plays “
a limited role when the relationship at government level is good
”, underlines the researcher.
In the absence of official relations with Taiwan, on the other hand, “
it is normal that we have parliamentary relations, so as to exchange with the executive authorities of Taiwan on the geopolitical situation of their region and the scientific, cultural and university development. ..
”, continues Senator Alain Richard.
Concrete cooperation in different areas
The profile of the parliamentarians present in Taiwan perfectly demonstrates the desire to give visibility to concrete cooperation.
One of the participants, Olivier Cadic, is a French senator based outside France, and Cyril Pellevat, who leads the delegation, is a senator from Haute-Savoie.
However, “
Taiwan is primarily a mountainous country
,” recalls Antoine Bondaz.
A senator from a mountainous region does not go there out of a passion for the island, but because there is cooperation in this area
”.
One of the objectives of this visit is also educational: to promote the Lycée international français de Taïpei, which allows young people living in Taiwan to follow an education in French.
“When RN deputies go to Syria to meet Bashar el Assad, it is clearly not the government that is represented.
»
Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the FRS.
Separation of powers
During each visit, however, senators do not go to Taiwan to convey a governmental message or engage the government in any way: the separation of legislative and executive powers implies real independence.
"
When RN deputies go to Syria to meet Bashar el Assad (in August 2019, editor's note), it is clearly not the government that is represented
", takes Antoine Bondaz as an example.
Read alsoAntoine Bondaz: “On the Beijing-Taiwan crisis, the fundamental question is who is threatening whom”
In the case of the current visit of the five senators, it is also necessary "to
handle the term 'representative delegation' with caution
", advances Alain Richard, who has "
ensured that the overall representation of the Senate cannot be designated as a delegation
.
When the former minister went to Taiwan in 2021, he indeed went there as president of the "
Senate-Taiwan
" group and therefore representative of the French Senate, while the five senators currently in Taipei are there on their own. own initiative.
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