President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 23 with Director Olivier Richard of the French Office in Taipei. During discussions, the president expressed hope that Taiwan and the European Union (EU) can sign an economic cooperation agreement at an early date, which would enhance cooperation and interaction between the two sides.
In remarks, the president stated that ties between Taiwan and France are quite close. In economic and trade relations, France was Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner in Europe in 2012, up one spot from 2011, he said, noting that bilateral trade amounted to US$4.5 billion. In addition, he commented, Taiwan's closest technology cooperation partner in Europe is France, while worldwide only the United States has a closer relationship with Taiwan in this regard, which highlights the close ties between the two on the technology front.
As for cultural and educational interaction, the president stated, institutions of higher education in Taiwan and France have signed over 200 cooperative agreements, and some 30 to 40 French films are screened each year in Taiwan. In addition, quite a few Taiwanese films are shown in France, the president said, pointing to the example of the film Face, which was filmed in The Louvre by renowned Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮). Taiwan's Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) visited France in February of this year to preside over the awarding of the Taiwan-France Cultural Awards, he noted. Bilateral ties are quite strong, he said, adding that this highlights the close state of relations between Taiwan and France.
President Ma stated that over the past five years Taiwan has seen significant advances in its ties with European nations. The EU has granted ROC nationals visa-free entry to Schengen member states, and members of the European Parliament have made a number of visits to Taiwan. Furthermore, these parliamentarians are actively promoting the signing of an economic cooperation agreement between the two sides, he said. While the Council of Europe has yet to make a decision on the matter, the president remarked, given the state of overall relations between Asia and Europe, Taiwan deeply hopes to follow in the footsteps of Korea and sign a similar agreement with the EU. In particular, he noted, the EU is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign investment. President Ma said he is confident that such an agreement would pave the way for an even closer cooperative relationship.
President Ma acknowledged that many European countries have called for Taiwan to open its markets for agricultural products and other goods. The president said that the Executive Yuan's Department of Health recently sent and will continue to dispatch officials to Europe to understand the state of livestock and agricultural products in countries there, after which Taiwan will decide which measures to adopt in opening its doors to these items.
The president briefed Director Richard on Taiwan's recent signing of a fisheries agreement with Japan, and on developments related to the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat incident. The president stated that Taiwan and Japan signed the fisheries agreement in April this year. While it focuses on fisheries affairs, the president said, such matters touch on the topic of sovereignty, which is a most sensitive issue for both sides. Consequently, this constitutes the most important agreement between Taiwan and Japan in the last 40 years, he commented. The signing of this agreement protects the rights of fishermen from both countries, and has helped reduce tension in the East China Sea, which highlights the importance of this pact, he said.
As for the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat incident, the president said, the Taiwanese boat came under fire from a Philippine government vessel, resulting in the death of one Taiwanese fisherman and damage to the fishing boat. Taiwan and the Philippines are currently engaged in talks on the issue, he remarked. President Ma added that in order to effectively protect Taiwan's rights, the government here has adopted a number of sanctions against the Philippines. In addition, it expects the government of the Philippines to offer a formal apology, to provide compensation for the losses, to promptly and thoroughly investigate the incident and severely punish those responsible for the killing, and to initiate fishery agreement negotiations between the two countries as soon as possible. He said that Taiwan hopes that these four demands are met as soon as possible so that this incident can be put to rest.
President Ma emphasized that the ROC is a peace-loving nation. However, the government must take measures to protect the safety of the nation's fishermen. He pointed out that the protection of Taiwan's fishing boats is not equivalent to military exercises. At the same time, he said, Taiwan is pleased to engage in interaction with neighboring countries. He pointed to relations between Taiwan and Japan as an example, saying that the fisheries agreement signed between the two was welcomed by the international community. The president noted that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994, encourages countries with maritime territories that either border upon or overlap with each other to resolve disputes through negotiations. For this reason, Taiwan will continue to take this general approach.
Director Richard visited the Presidential Office in the morning to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).