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.
‘HONORED’: The DPP’s Lin Fei-fan said friends working in the foreign media, the diplomatic corps and at think tanks congratulated him for making the sanctions list The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday slammed China for sanctioning Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and six other Taiwanese officials for being “diehard separatists,” saying its attempt to intimidate Taiwanese would backfire. China has no authority to dictate the actions of Taiwanese, because Taiwan is a democratic nation that upholds the rule of law, and would never yield to intimidation and threats from an authoritarian regime, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency earlier yesterday reported that the Taiwan Work Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee has imposed
ORDNANCE: Under a five-year plan, the Chungshan Institute would make about 200 Hsiung Feng II and III/IIIE, and Hsiung Sheng missiles, an official said The Ministry of National Defense plans to counter the Chinese navy by producing more than 1,000 anti-ship missiles over the next five years, a defense official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The comments came after China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy began a series of military drills in a simulated naval blockade of Taiwan proper following a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Although China has in the past few years rapidly produced many warships and added them to its navy, these large vessels are more suited for warfare on the open sea than in the narrow
THAI ASSISTANCE: The representative office in Thailand worked with local authorities to help trafficking victims return home, while one in the group has been charged Eight Taiwanese who were lured to Cambodia with lucrative job offers only to be forced to work illegally were brought home on Sunday night in a joint effort between Taiwanese and Thai authorities, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said. Nine people — six men and three women aged 23 to 42 — boarded China Airlines Flight CI-836 from Bangkok, with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 9:55pm and were taken to the Aviation Police Bureau for questioning before entering home isolation in accordance with Taiwan’s COVID-19 regulations. The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday
The organizers of WorldPride 2025 have canceled the Kaohsiung event because its licensing group, InterPride, demanded that it remove “Taiwan” from the event’s name, they said in a statement yesterday. Kaohsiung was to host WorldPride Taiwan 2025 after being granted the right by the global LGBTQ advocacy group. However, the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan Preparation Committee said that InterPride recently gave “abrupt notice” asking it to change the name of the event and use “Kaohsiung” instead of “Taiwan,” even though it applied for the event using “Taiwan” in its name. The name was initially chosen for its significance to the Taiwanese LGBTQ community, as
RSS