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Shrine visit not for officials, Hsieh says

Although there is no law against Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Shu Chin-chiang's (蘇進強) visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, government officials should not conduct themselves in this manner, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was quoted as saying yesterday.

Cabinet Spokesman Chou Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Hsieh had made the remark during yesterday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

"Shu's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine is controversial, but there is no legal prohibition against it," Chou said.

"However, it is a real political problem. Leaders of political parties should think things through before they do something like that," he said.

According to Chou, Hsieh told Cabinet members to remember that war is bad for the people and the country, especially while Taiwan is trying hard to normalize the cross-strait relationship. Consequently, the government would definitely not endorse any issue, event, ceremony or policy related to war.

However, Shu's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine was a private activity, which is not illegal, Chou said.

"As government officials, it is our job to carry out the policies that have been set by the government. As a result, in addition to avoiding such behavior, government officials should also avoid affirming this kind of conduct," Chou said.

The Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to Japan's 2.5 million war dead and lists the names of 28,000 Taiwanese and 21,000 Korean soldiers.

Most of them were forced into serving during Japan's colonial rule.

Shu said that he visited the shrine to pay his respects to the Taiwanese whose names are included in the memorial.
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