TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The French National Assembly groups Agir ensemble (AE) and the Taiwan-France Friendship Group invited Taiwanese envoy to France Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) to participate in separate videoconferences Tuesday (Dec. 15) and share the successful pandemic prevention measures Taiwan has adopted.
The first meeting took place Tuesday morning with AE Chairman Olivier Becht. The second was held in the evening with Taiwan-France Friendship Group Chairman François de Rugy.
At the beginning of each meeting, Wu explained the three features of Taiwan's pandemic strategy: a high level of alertness, efficiency, and a democratic outbreak prevention model. The democratic model, Wu explained, entails information transparency, a legal basis for mandatory quarantines, legal sources for data collection, and a standardized set of integrated pandemic prevention procedures, CNA reported.
Assembly delegates were surprised that Taiwan has been able to maintain an economic growth rate of more than 2 percent during the pandemic. They affirmed that Taiwan's achievements are obvious and expressed that the East Asian nation is the perfect example of a democratic approach to preventing an epidemic.
Delegates were also reportedly impressed by Taiwan’s use of digital technology and quarantines to stymie the virus. The legislators inquired about the coronavirus’ impact on Taiwan’s economy, the second wave of the virus, the country’s border control situation, supportive measures implemented during quarantine, and vaccine policies.
On the international relations front, the French lawmakers expressed concern over Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization and the impact of COVID-19 on cross-strait relations.
In response, Wu appealed to the delegates to support Taiwan's participation in the WHO. On cross-strait relations, the diplomat stated: "The economic exchanges between the two sides of the strait are still frequent. However, China's repeated dispatching of military aircraft to harass Taiwan has not only caused tension in cross-strait relations but also undermined the stability of the Asia-Pacific region."
Both parliamentary groups thanked Wu for sharing his country's experience in detail, saying the information he provided would serve as a reference for the French government as it formulates its own pandemic policies in the future.
