The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands are an inseparable part of the Republic of China’s (ROC) territory and that any different views expressed by former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) were his personal opinion.
Lee, who is visiting Okinawa, was quoted by the Central News Agency yesterday as saying at a luncheon hosted by the Okinawa county magistrate yesterday that “The Diaoyutai islands have belonged to Japan since a long time ago.”
Like Taiwan, the island group was part of Japanese territory during its occupation from 1895 until 1945, he said.
Lee has been criticized in the past for making similar comments.
Following a swearing-in ceremony yesterday for ministry officials, including John Feng (馮寄台), the nation’s new representative to Japan, who will be leaving on Saturday to take up his post, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) told reporters that the Diaoyutai islands are under the jurisdiction of the ROC government and that Lee’s views did not dovetail with those of the administration.
Feng said the dispute over the islands was a prolonged issue and should be resolved through diplomatic means.
“We acknowledge that Japan believes the Diaoyutai islands are part of its territory, but this can only be resolved diplomatically,” he said.
Controversy over the sovereignty of the island group was re-ignited this year when a Taiwanese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Japanese patrol vessel on June 10 near the islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese. Taiwan, Japan and China all claim rights over the islands.
Taiwan and Japan held a 15th round of fishery talks in July 2005 to try to resolve the dispute. While both sides agreed to hold another round of talks in March 2006, they never took place.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS