A senior Taiwan leader has publicly questioned Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to France’s founding ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity following anger at his comments over ties with Beijing.
In an interview that was supposed to showcase European unity over China, the French president cautioned against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an “American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction”.
Mr Macron also called for the European Union to reduce its dependence on the United States and to become a “third pole” in world affairs alongside Washington and Beijing.
Taiwan parliament speaker You Si-kun reposted the comments on social media, adding: “Are ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ out of fashion?”
“Is it OK just to ignore this once it’s part of the constitution? Or can advanced democratic countries ignore the lives and deaths of people in other countries? The actions of President Macron, a leading international democracy, leave me puzzled.”
In the interview with French newspaper Les Echos and Politico Europe, Mr Macron suggested it was not in France’s interest to intervene in the Taiwan issue.
“The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No,” he said.
“The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese over-reaction.”
He said it would be “a trap for Europe” to get embroiled in crises “that are not ours”. He also said there would not be time nor the means “to finance our own strategic autonomy and we will become vassals” if the conflict between the US and China increases.
He also said that Europe “could become the third pole [in the world order] if we have a few years to develop this”.
France, like most other countries, has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan in tune with Beijing’s “One China” policy and its claims over Taiwan.
France, however, does maintain a de facto embassy in Taipei and has joined other US allies in underscoring the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait, near where China recently undertook three-day drills in response to the Taiwanese president’s US visit.
Meanwhile, former British prime minister Liz Truss launched an attack on the French president and termed his visit to China as a “sign of weakness”.
In a speech at the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, Ms Truss said China and Russia are “allies against Western capitalism.”
“That is why Western leaders visiting President Xi to ask for his support in ending the war is a mistake and it is a sign of weakness.”
“Instead our energies should go into taking more measures to support Taiwan. We need to make sure Taiwan is able to defend itself. We need to put economic pressure on China before it is too late.”
However, Taiwan’s foreign ministry downplayed Mr Macron’s comments and said the French position on the Taipei-Beijing tensions had not changed.
It said on Wednesday that China was planning to impose a temporary no-fly zone about 85 nautical miles north of the island, affecting 60-70 per cent of flights between northeast Asia and southeast Asia, as well as flights between Taiwan and South Korea, Japan and North America.
Reuters reported that Beijing is planning to impose the restriction from 16-18 April.
It comes after Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen conducted an overseas trip last week which included a stop at the US and a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, angering Beijing.
Taiwan’s government strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Additional reporting by agencies
