French parliamentarians arrive in Taiwan amid escalating tensions with China

TAIPEI, 7 Sep. (DPA/EP) -

A delegation of French parliamentarians arrived in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on Wednesday, this being the first visit of this type of representatives of a large European country since the controversial trip of the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. , to the Asian country last month.

The multi-party delegation, led by Senator Cyril Pellevat, Vice President of the European Affairs Committee of the French Upper House, has arrived for a six-day official visit to the island at the invitation of the Taiwanese government. It is the fourth group of French lawmakers to arrive in Taiwan in the last 12 months.

"The arrival fully demonstrates the good friendship between Taiwan and France," Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou told DPA.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with Vice President Lai Ching Te, Legislative Speaker You Si Kun, as well as other senior officials to discuss regional security, technological innovation and strengthening industrial supply chains.

In response to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in early August, China launched large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, followed by a new round of military exercises.

On Tuesday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen said the situation remained tense and Chinese threats persisted, including the incursion of Chinese military aircraft, disinformation campaigns, drones and other gray-area tactics.

Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and opposes any form of official contact between Taiwan and other countries.