President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 11 with French Senator Catherine Tasca, chairwoman of the French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome and thanks to Senator Tasca for coming to Taiwan to take part in the nation's 2012 Double Tenth National Day celebrations.
The president remarked that he last met with Senator Tasca two years ago when she visited Taiwan together with Monique Papon, vice president of the French Senate and then-chairwoman of the Taiwan Friendship Group. The president stated that Senator Tasca's return visit to Taiwan this time will certainly provide an opportunity to enhance her understanding of Taiwan's development in many areas.
President Ma noted that the French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group was established in 1984, and over the years has made considerable contributions in the promotion of cultural ties, as well as interaction between the parliamentary bodies of both nations. For instance, with the support of the Taiwan Friendship Group, the Senate's "Soiree de Taiwan" has become a platform for parliamentary diplomacy and cultural diplomacy between the two nations. This event is important to the development of cultural interaction between France and Taiwan, he said.
President Ma further commented that trade between the two nations last year exceeded 3.9 billion euro. The two countries maintain extremely close ties in the field of education, with institutions of higher education from the two nations having signed over 200 cooperation agreements. In the area of technology cooperation, the two sides maintain over 250 technology cooperation projects, and France is Taiwan's second largest partner in technology behind only the United States. On the cultural front, Taiwan is one of the most important markets for French films in Asia, he said, with over 40 French films screened here on average each year, which is the most in Asia. Furthermore, only two libraries in Asia at present have established a section for French language books, one of which is in Singapore and the other in Taichung in central Taiwan, he said. All of these achievements are in large part due to the close relationship fostered by the Taiwan Friendship Group over the past 28 years, the president stated.
The president also mentioned that the European Union last year granted visa-free treatment to ROC nationals, and since then the number of people from Taiwan traveling to Europe has increased by 30-40%. In addition, Taiwan has signed youth working holiday agreements with the UK and Germany, and these programs have become extremely popular among young people here between the ages of 18 and 30. Each year, the quotas of between 800 and 1,000 individuals are quickly filled, he said. The president expressed his hope that France will sign a similar agreement with Taiwan in the near future.
Senator Tasca was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) and Director Olivier Richard of the French Office in Taipei to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).