The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday downplayed reports that a ban on imports of food from areas affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan would be discussed at the Taiwan-Japan Maritime Affairs Cooperation Dialogue Mechanism in Tokyo on Monday.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asked Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) whether the government has decided to reopen the door to Japanese food products that have been prohibited.
“There is a high level of public consensus on the issue, as it could jeopardize food safety,” Chiang said at the question-and-answer session. “If the issue is discussed at the bilateral meeting, or if it is not brought up, but the government has already made a secret promise to Tokyo to lift the ban, we will denounce such an action.”
Lee said the government agencies responsible for the issue are the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Council of Agriculture and neither is to send representative to the maritime meeting.
Chiang later asked Association of East Asian Relations Secretary-General Peter Tsai (蔡明耀) the same question.
“I am not able to answer the question because my association is not in charge of the issue, nor have I ever heard of such a decision,” said Tsai, who is to lead the Taiwanese delegation to the meeting.
There have been rumors that the government plans to lift the import ban, which was imposed on all food imports from five prefectures — Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba — after the nuclear catastrophe in March 2011.
Earlier yesterday, the ministry announced the date for the first round of the bilateral meetings.
“During the meeting, our side is to put forward issues including fisheries cooperation, emergency relief at sea and marine scientific research. Government agencies have been fully briefed on these issues,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said it would negotiate with Tokyo on the issue of Okinotori Atoll because of the government’s determination to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese fishermen.
The bilateral meeting was originally scheduled for July 28, but was postponed indefinitely two days beforehand to allow both sides more time to prepare for the wide variety of issues to be discussed.
The dialogue mechanism was established in May after relations between the two nations were strained by the Japan Coast Guard on April 25 seized a Taiwanese fishing boat operating about 150 nautical miles (277.8km) east-southeast of Okinotori Atoll.
The mechanism was created under the framework of the Taipei-based Association of East Asian Relations and its Japanese counterpart, the Interchange Association, Japan.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
RSS