The government had encouraged Taiwanese expatriate groups to protest against the recent visit to Washington of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) representative to the US, Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), said on Wednesday.
Wu said that on the eve of Abe’s visit, the groups were asked by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office’s (TECRO) cultural division to sign a petition supporting President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) East China Sea peace initiative for the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkakus in Japan.
Twenty-two of the groups signed the petition and members of some organizations protested against Abe’s visit at the Japanese embassy and on the streets of New York, where they waved flags alongside Chinese banners.
“It was not appropriate for TECRO to become involved in this way,” Wu said.
“We really care about Taiwan’s relationship with Japan — Taiwan should not be working with China to counter Japan,” he said.
Wu raised the issue this week, when he met with US Congressional members during a short visit to Washington. Based in Taipei, Wu comes to Washington every few months.
During a briefing for the Taiwanese press — held in the DPP’s new Washington office near the White House — Wu repeated: “It was not appropriate for TECRO-related groups to start a fire to undercut relations with Japan.”
Wu said that he would have no objection if Taiwanese exaptriates, acting on their own initiative, decided to protest Abe’s visit, but the protests took place after TECRO asked the groups to sign its petition at the very time that Abe was visiting.
He said the protesters had been “encouraged” by the petition.
“It was not appropriate for the cultural division to send these things out at a time coinciding with the visit,” Wu said.
Wu said he hoped to talk with Taiwanese Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) while in Washington, but was not able to arrange a meeting.
“Unfortunately, the schedules couldn’t be worked out,” he said.
Wu met with a number of US representatives, leading members of the US House and Senate staff, think tank analysts, academics and members of the Taiwanese-American community.
He said that one major topic of discussion was the East China Sea dispute and that he stressed the DPP wanted to maintain good relations with Japan, a close US ally in the region.
“Taiwan should not provoke Japan,” he said.
“Although there is a sovereignty dispute between Taiwan and Japan over the Diaoyutai issue, good Taiwan-Japan relations and peace and stability in the region are more important,” Wu said.
Wu was also arranging a visit to Washington by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌). While the exact dates have not yet been fixed, the visit is expected to take place in late May or early June.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the allegations.
Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), the director-general of the ministry’s Department of North American Affairs, said yesterday that the ministry was “absolutely not” behind the anti-Abe protest.
“We have been very clear in our position that we do not want to see Taiwanese expatriates join anti-Abe protests staged by Chinese expat groups. If some Taiwanese were involved, they were there on their own initiative,” he said.
The peace initiative, which emphasizes that “sovereignty is indivisible, while resources can be shared,” is the overarching principle for the ministry’s policies on the East China Sea, and therefore the ministry does not encourage any anti-Japan moves, Linghu said.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS