Print

Mail

wiki links

Chen apologizes to Tokyo governor

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday offered an apology to Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara for what he felt was an embarrassment of Ishihara during his recent visit to Taiwan.

"On behalf of the government, I would like to express my deepest apology to [Ishihara] for the wrongs and misunderstandings he encountered during the past few days," Chen said while receiving Ishihara at the Presidential Office.

Chen was referring to criticism of Ishihara's three-day trip on the premium-class scenic train Star of Formosa by some media outlets and legislators, who described the trip as an abuse of privilege. The legislators slammed the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) for privileging dignitaries over regular passengers during a temporary shutdown of the railway because of Typhoon Nock-Ten, and asked why Ishihara was allowed to ride on the train while some 20,000 commuters were forced to delay or cancel their trips.

Ishihara was invited on the trip by Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) to help promote local tourism and to attract more Japanese visitors to Taiwan.

"To be a spokesman for Taiwan's tourism is tantamount to shooting an ad that needs special arrangements. Such is a matter of course that is natural and right. How could it be an abuse of privilege?" Chen asked, urging Ishihara not to take the criticisms seriously.

Noting that there are many counties which spend large sums to invite supermodels to be their spokespeople and promote tourism, Chen said Ishihara, who is in Taiwan helping to promote tourism free-of-charge, "is a `supermodel' that would be hard to invite even with a princely sum."

With that said, Chen expressed gratitude to Ishihara for adhering to his original schedule in visiting Taiwan, despite earthquakes and other disasters in Japan and Typhoon Nock-Ten.

Chen also said that "it is part of Taiwan's domestic aberrations that the more a foreign friend supports Taiwan, the more [he or she] will be vilified and treated as a leper by domestic factions."

"It is regrettable that a good friend such as Ishihara, who supports Taiwan's independent sovereignty, as usual is attacked by pro-unification groups here," Chen said.

"The international community is being very unfair, inasmuch as Taiwan enjoys independent sovereignty, yet its 23 million people can not simultaneously enjoy 100 percent of their sovereign rights," Chen said.

He told the governor that the nation was honored and proud to have friends such as Ishihara who support Taiwan.

Ishihara told Chen that he did not mind the incident as he knew it to be "a devilment produced by the media as a means to create a news story."

Also See Story:
Editorial: Value Ishihara's friendship

This story has been viewed 2722 times.