Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) yesterday reaffirmed the government’s position that Taiwan will not make any concessions on the nation’s territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and called on Japan to deal with the matter with rationality and deliberation.
“There is no question that the Diaoyutais have been an integral part of the territory of the Republic of China [ROC] since ancient times, as evidenced by historical facts, geology, international law and the operations of traditional Taiwanese fishermen,” Yang said on the sidelines of a press conference to promote an emergency aid application for Taiwanese traveling abroad, known as Travel Emergency Guidance, launched by the ministry.
Yang said that despite the nation’s full sovereignty over the islands, the government must put aside long-standing disputes over the matter while inviting other countries to jointly explore and share resources in an amicable, equal and a reciprocal manner.
The foreign minister made the remark following a new round of disputes over the islands, as well as confirmation by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Saturday of a report that the Japanese government was mulling buying a chain of islands in the Diaoyutais from a Japanese man who claims them as his inheritance and nationalizing them at a later date.
Asked about the possibility of the government adopting “concrete measures” to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, Yang said the ministry would seek further deliberation with concerned agencies and put in place proper countermeasures.
“[Any future actions] would be contingent on the development of the matter,” Yang said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese navy yesterday started a six-day live-fire military drill, which will run through Sunday, in the East China Sea. The exercise comes at a sensitive time and has added to the already considerable tension in the region.
Yang urged all parties to remain calm and react cautiously while refraining from any inflammatory rhetoric or conduct that could adversely impact the regional status quo.
He reiterated that Taiwan would not join hands with China in asserting sovereignty over the islands, adding the country has its own stance and national interests on the issue.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS