Taiwan yesterday expressed concern to the Japanese government after four Japanese lawmakers inspected the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and nearby waters from the air.
Kyodo news agency reported that four Japanese, including Kazuhiro Haraguchi, member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the House of Representatives, and Yukihisa Fujita, a DPJ lawmaker in the House of Councilors, and two lower house members — Katsuyuki Kawai of the Liberal Democratic Party and Mito Kakizawa of Your Party, yesterday morning conducted an aerial inspection over the area known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese.
Huang Ming-lung (黃明朗), -secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ East Asian Relations Commission, said he has spoken with Japanese Representative to Taiwan Tahashi Imai by phone and reiterated the government’s position on the country’s sovereignty over the islands.
Huang said he learned from Imai that the inspection was civil in nature and made by Japanese citizens, “a move in which the DPJ was not involved.”
Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) added that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan has also expressed Taiwan’s concerns to the Japanese government.
The government will continue to keep a close watch on actions by Japanese political figures regarding the matter and “take necessary measures in a timely manner,” Chang said without elaborating.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
RSS