Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara is the highest-ranking Japanese politician to visit Taiwan in recent times, and also the most controversial. His visit will inevitably bring animosity from Beijing, but symbolizes a breakthrough in Taiwan-Japan relations by dispelling the taboo against visits by Japanese officials.
Shintaro Ishihara is a prize-winning novelist who served in the Japanese parliament from 1968 until his resignation in 1995. He is among Japan's most colorful and outspoken politicians, and established himself as the spokesperson for the new Japanese nationalism by penning the book, The Japan That Can Say No. His comments on China have angered Beijing, and have got him branded him as being a representative of the revival of Japanese militarism.
Ishihara believes that China's economic development will soon lead to demands for cultural and religious autonomy, followed by regional economic independence. The last of the great imperial states is already riven by economic fault lines, and this will drive China to accept a federation, claims Mr. Ishihara.
His predictions sound logical and rational, but have deeply wounded Chinese sensibilities.
In fact, Sino-Japanese relations are already teetering on the brink of a vast crevasse. During a visit to the US in 1997, Jiang Zemin (
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs often complains that China keeps the public ignorant of Japan's massive economic aid to China over the past 30 years, and instead appeals to Japan's sense of historical guilt. Japan's historical debt is a political token in China's eyes. Pro-China forces in Japan have as a result weakened in recent years, while vocal support for Taiwan is on the rise.
The US and Japan are Taiwan's two most important allies, and both are concerned about China's increasing clout. But rising tension in the Taiwan Strait is a more imminent concern for Japan. It will be a disaster for Japan if it falls for China's trap. The interests of Taiwan and Japan overlap in this respect, and this is the real reason behind President Lee Teng-hui's (
Lee Teng-hui was a Japanese citizen for 22 years, and has tried to use his knowledge of Japan and connections there to strengthen relations between all sectors of society in Japan and Taiwan, and establish venues of friendship and communication. Many people criticize Lee for being too pro-Japan, yet in fact he is only acting in Taiwan's strategic foreign interests. Unfortunately, none of the presidential candidates shares his vision or his connections.
Shintaro Ishihara is a conservative hard-liner, and we may not agree with all of his ideas. But we should welcome his visit to Taiwan as we welcome other foreign politicians, and use the opportunity to improve relations between Japan and Taiwan. As the Chinese saying goes, "A near neighbor is better than a distant cousin," and sometimes Taiwan's relationship with Japan is more important that Taiwan-US ties.
The image was oddly quiet. No speeches, no flags, no dramatic announcements — just a Chinese cargo ship cutting through arctic ice and arriving in Britain in October. The Istanbul Bridge completed a journey that once existed only in theory, shaving weeks off traditional shipping routes. On paper, it was a story about efficiency. In strategic terms, it was about timing. Much like politics, arriving early matters. Especially when the route, the rules and the traffic are still undefined. For years, global politics has trained us to watch the loud moments: warships in the Taiwan Strait, sanctions announced at news conferences, leaders trading
Eighty-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy supply this year came from burning fossil fuels, with more than 47 percent of that from gas-fired power generation. The figures attracted international attention since they were in October published in a Reuters report, which highlighted the fragility and structural challenges of Taiwan’s energy sector, accumulated through long-standing policy choices. The nation’s overreliance on natural gas is proving unstable and inadequate. The rising use of natural gas does not project an image of a Taiwan committed to a green energy transition; rather, it seems that Taiwan is attempting to patch up structural gaps in lieu of
The Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office on Monday announced that they would not countersign or promulgate the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) passed by the Legislative Yuan — a first in the nation’s history and the ultimate measure the central government could take to counter what it called an unconstitutional legislation. Since taking office last year, the legislature — dominated by the opposition alliance of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party — has passed or proposed a slew of legislation that has stirred controversy and debate, such as extending
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators have twice blocked President William Lai’s (賴清德) special defense budget bill in the Procedure Committee, preventing it from entering discussion or review. Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) proposed amendments that would enable lawmakers to use budgets for their assistants at their own discretion — with no requirement for receipts, staff registers, upper or lower headcount limits, or usage restrictions — prompting protest from legislative assistants. After the new legislature convened in February, the KMT joined forces with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and, leveraging their slim majority, introduced bills that undermine the Constitution, disrupt constitutional
RSS