Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday that the ministry would instruct its office in Japan to declare the government’s position on the status of the country to the Japanese government following a recent statement by a Japanese government official.
Lin made the remarks when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) to comment on a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), during a session of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
The report quoted Japanese State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa as saying that Japan did not recognize Taiwan as part of China, when taking questions from Hirosato Nakatsugawa, a representative of the Democratic Party, on Wednesday in the Diet.
Takemasa said that when it signed the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, Japan renounced all rights to Taiwan and the Japanese government was in no position to determine Taiwan’s de jure status, the paper said. The paper said that Nakatsugawa brought up the issue since Taiwan is classified as part of China in Japanese senior school history textbooks.
“[What Takemasa] said is a very serious problem. The ministry has to clearly express the government’s position to the Japanese government,” Chang said.
Chang said that Taiwan’s status was decided by the Treaty of Taipei, signed in Taipei in 1952, which stipulates that nationals of the Republic of China shall be deemed to include all the inhabitants of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
In response to Chang, Lin said that what Takemasa had said was the official position of the Japanese government.
“But for us, it’s very clear that Taiwan’s sovereignty was determined by the Treaty Taipei,” he said.
Saying that he agreed with Chang that it was an important issue, Lin added that the ministry would express the government’s position clearly to the Japanese government.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all