Taiwan-Japan relations could be strengthened to promote regional stability because both countries share the values of democracy, freedom and human rights, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in Tokyo yesterday.
“The DPP hopes that Taiwan and Japan can strengthen their bilateral partnership as members of a democratic alliance, which would make the Asia-Pacific a region of security, stability and prosperity by promoting dialogue and closer engagement,” Su said on the second day of his five-day visit to Japan.
Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the US all share those same values, said the DPP chairman, who is leading a 30-member delegation on his first overseas trip since assuming the party leadership in May last year.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
Su made the comments during his visit to the Japan-Republic Of China Diet Members’ Consultative Council, a pro-Taiwan parliamentary group in the Japanese Diet, and met its president — Japanese Senator Takeo Hiranuma.
Su reiterated Taiwanese affinity with Japan, saying that this was not only because of the close proximity of the two countries, but also because of a long history of bilateral trade and cultural exchanges.
The assistance offered by the nations to each other after the Japanese earthquake in March 2011 and the 921 Earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 was solid evidence of a strong friendship, Su said.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, Su visited the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters and met LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister, to exchange views on security in East Asia, the dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkakus in Japan, and bilateral trade relations.
Speaking to Taiwanese media during a visit to the National Diet Building yesterday morning, Su dismissed reports concerning the cancelation of his meeting with Japan Restoration Party leader Shintaro Ishihara, a right-wing politician who initiated a spat over the disputed islands by proposing that Japan nationalize them.
Su said the main goals of his visit were to strengthen the Asia-Pacific democratic alliance and to promote regional stability and prosperity, rather than meeting certain politicians.
On the Diaoyutais dispute, Su said the most urgent task for Taiwan was the protection of fishing rights and that he was glad to see both sides are ready for a new round of negotiations.
In response to a media inquiry about domestic political affairs, the chairman said the appointments of Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) and Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as minister of economic affairs and Council for Economic Planning and Development minister “showed the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] talent drought.”
“The thing that this administration should carry out is probably not a change of personnel, but a change of policy, because [President] Ma [Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)] policies are being questioned by the people,” he said.
The delegation arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and is scheduled to return to Taipei on Thursday.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS