More than 50 people representing Taiwan's indigenous tribes arrived in Japan yesterday to demand that the names of their ancestors forced to fight in World War II be removed from a controversial war memorial.
The protesters, many in traditional clothes, held a ceremony outside an airport lobby before they boarded their planes to summon the spirits of their ancestors killed in the war.
Representing nine tribes, they plan to protest from today outside Yasukuni shrine, dedicated to 2.5 million war dead, including 14 convicted Japanese war criminals.
PHOTO: AFP
Japanese authorities have, however, warned them via Taiwan's de facto embassy that they would be barred from visiting the shrine.
The group also plans to travel to Osaka where a verdict is expected on June 17 in a court case demanding the removal of the names.
Some 28,000 Taiwanese names -- about 10,000 of them of indigenous Taiwanese forced to join the Japanese military -- are listed at the shrine.
The soldiers listed were pressed into military service when Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945.
"What we want is simple: that the names of our sacrificed ancestors be removed from the Yasukuni shrine," Chang Chun-chieh (張俊傑), an aide to Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) who is heading the group, said.
"The names of the ancestors should not be listed together with some 1,100 Japanese soldiers who died while invading [Taiwan]," Chang said.
Another protester, Tu Shui-chiu, told reporters: "I had dreamed of a group of ancestors last night. They are anxiously waiting for our arrival."
May Chin said last week her office had received "countless phone calls" warning her group against making the trip.
She said she had also been sent an anonymous postcard which threatened in Mandarin: "I will wait for you in Japan on June 13 so that you can come to Japan and return lifeless to Taiwan."
Undaunted, she said: "We'll protest in a peaceful manner as scheduled."
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS