Japan's concern over Taiwan in terms of security as a result of Beijing's enactment of its "Anti-Secession" Law has become increasingly explicit, Taiwan's representative to Japan said yesterday.
Koh Se-kai (
Fielding questions at the Legislative Yuan Foreign Affairs Committee, Koh said that the Japanese government has expressed its intention to "demonstrate grave concern" and "conduct a possible intervention" in the event of incidents that may undermine cross-strait peace.
Koh said Japan is not legally allowed to organize its own military forces without amending Article 9 of its Constitution. But if cross-strait conflict erupts after the Japanese Constitution is amended, it will positively demonstrate its serious concern toward such conflict, Koh added.
Should cross-strait conflict occur prior to a Japanese constitutional amendment, Koh said, Japan would only be able to lend support, such as logistical aid, to the US military -- in the event that the US came to Taiwan's rescue militarily if a cross-strait war erupted.
Discounting criticism by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Chi (
Koh promised to look further into Taiwan's trade deficit with Japan, which soared by 50 percent to reach US$56.83 billion last year, saying that he will see to it that certain measures are adjusted.
Despite the fact that he is pro-Taiwan independence and that the establishment of a "Republic of Taiwan" is his personal ideal, Koh said that as a government functionary, his priority is to fulfill his governmental obligations.
"I know what I'm doing," Koh said in response to People First Party Legislator Sun Ta-chian (孫大千). He added he agrees with Sun that the best common ground for Taiwan for the time being is maintaining the Republic of China and securing the cross-strait status quo.
Meanwhile, Koh said, Japan will continue to support Taiwan in its bid to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) , the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, this year, marking the third consecutive year that Japan has openly thrown its support behind Taiwan in this regard.
The Japanese government has promised that "what has been achieved will not be degraded," Koh said, adding that his office will continue to push for Japanese officials to voice support for Taiwan at the WHA. In addition, he said, a number of Taiwanese health officials are scheduled to visit Japan in April to enhance Taiwan's WHA lobby.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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