Japan has decided not to use military planes to deliver relief goods to quake-hit China, government officials said yesterday, after Beijing voiced uneasiness over the mission.
The Japanese government later announced additional aid of up to ¥500 million (US$4.76 million) in earthquake relief, in addition to the same amount that Tokyo had promised earlier this month.
Beijing and Tokyo had discussed using Japanese military planes to deliver aid, which could have become the first significant military dispatch between the two nations since World War II.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Tokyo would not insist on using the military.
“There was caution voiced in China, and following talks between China and Japan, we have decided not to send Self-Defense Force planes,” he told reporters. “This is not an issue that we should risk causing friction.”
Japan invaded China and conquered large parts of it in the 1930s before being defeated by the Allies in 1945, and many Chinese still strongly resent Japan for its military aggression.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun said the Chinese government was concerned about domestic public opinion after many Chinese posted comments opposing the mission on Web sites.
Instead of sending military planes, Japan is arranging private charter planes to deliver relief goods to China early next week, Machimura said later yesterday.
Since World War II, Japan has sent only a small group of defense experts to China to dispose of chemical weapons abandoned by Japanese troops.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross of China promised yesterday that donations made to quake-hit areas would all be used for recovery work.
“I have already promised many times to society that all donations made to the earthquake will be used for relief work,” Jiang Yiman (江亦曼), vice president of the Red Cross of China, told reporters.
Jiang was speaking at a press conference called to try to ease fears that creeping corruption would stop some of the money and materials donated reaching those most in need.
Generous donations made at home and abroad have drawn much praise, but already reports have emerged of diverted aid supplies and scams being launched to grab a piece of the largesse.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
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
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
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS