Japan's prime minister said yesterday that he is baffled by the Chinese premier's refusal to meet one-on-one, fueling a row dating back to World War II and clouding a summit with grand visions for a pan-Asian community.
South Korea and Southeast Asian nations inked an accord during meetings yesterday to set up a free trade area, while the Philippines invited Russia and China to join a Southeast Asian anti-terror coalition.
China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she hoped "these two very important friends of ours will be able to sort out their political differences because their economic relationship is very good."
Koizumi told ASEAN leaders during their meeting yesterday that he found Wen's attitude to be inexplicable.
"No two nations are without their share of differences. I cannot understand why China won't have a meeting because of one problem," Koizumi was quoted as saying by a Japanese delegation official.
The Chinese delegation did not immediately respond, but Wen said late on Monday that Koizumi lacks the "correct approach toward historical questions ... deeply hurting the feeling[s] of the Chinese people, the Korean people and the people of Asia."
Koizumi maintains his visits are meant to express his remorse about the war.
China and South Korea say Japan has not fully atoned for wartime atrocities.
Meanwhile Russia held its first-ever summit with ASEAN, reflecting its desire to forge closer economic ties with the region.
The meetings in Kuala Lumpur end today when the 10 ASEAN leaders meet with counterparts from Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand at the inaugural East Asia Summit.
The 16-country group aims for an eventual Asian economic community comprising half the world's population and a combined economy of US$8.3 trillion, but the region's many rivalries make that goal elusive.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique