President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 4 with Mr. Benoit Guidee, new Director of the French Office in Taipei. The president welcomed Director Guidee on his new post in the ROC and also called for a continued deepening of interaction and cooperation between the two countries. The president then briefed Director Guidee about Taiwan's determination and aggressive steps to reduce carbon emissions.
In remarks, the president stated that Director Guidee previously served as an adviser to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Asian and American affairs, and his appointment to serve as a bridge between the ROC and France will be a significant factor in deepening bilateral relations.
The president noted that the ROC and France have maintained extremely close interaction and cooperation in a variety of areas. Last year, bilateral trade stood at roughly US$4.25 billion, making France the ROC's 22nd largest global trading partner and fourth largest in Europe behind only Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The president called on the French government to support negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement and economic cooperation agreement between the ROC and the European Union (EU) as soon as possible, thus enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
In the area of science and technology, the president stated that the ROC and France have signed 58 technological cooperation agreements, with Taiwan devoting more resources to its cooperation with France than any other country in Europe. France is also Taiwan's second largest technology cooperation partner in the world, behind only the United States. The president also noted that Taiwan and France have signed over 400 cooperative agreements involving schools and institutions of higher education. In addition, each year about 50 French films are screened in Taiwan, the highest number in Asia. The ROC's Ministry of Culture and the Institut de France jointly established the Taiwan-France Cultural Award. The award is important to the ROC, and on July 6 of this year ROC Minister of Culture Hung Meng-chi (洪孟啟) visited France to host the award presentation ceremonies.
President Ma then mentioned that he promoted student exchange and internship programs during his tenure as Taipei City mayor with outstanding results. The ROC has already signed youth working holiday agreements with eight EU nations including Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium, and the president hopes the ROC and France will sign a similar agreement in the near future to enhance interaction between the two countries.
President Ma stated that the ROC, with the assistance of the EU and its diplomatic allies, has made significant progress in external relations in recent years. For instance, after an absence of 38 years, the ROC has been invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) and participate in the International Health Regulations (IHR) mechanism for seven consecutive years dating back to 2009 under an appropriate name, at the ministerial level, and with formal status and equal treatment, as well as direct contact. In 2013 Taiwan also attended the 38th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a special guest after a lapse of 42 years.
President Ma stated that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will hold its 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) next month in Paris. While the ROC cannot send a representative to participate, it will still work to make the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project part of Taiwan's domestic agenda. Taiwan has already pledged its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, and in June of this year the Legislative Yuan passed the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Management Act, under which the ROC has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to half of the level of 2005 by the year 2050. "This is an extremely ambitious commitment that entails significant risks," he remarked. At the same time, the government has responded to the passage last year of the Lima Call for Climate Action by actively taking steps to reduce carbon emissions in conjunction with the international community, said the president.
President Ma also shared the influence that the short story La Derniere Classe, or The Last Class, written by French author Alphonse Daudet, has had on him. The president commented that following World War II, France and Germany promoted a large-scale student exchange program that had a significant long-term impact. Over the past few years, having seen what happened in France, Taiwan has strengthened interaction with students from mainland China, he said.