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.
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses on the wrong issue. The problem is not last year’s outcomes failing to meet the bilingual education vision; the issue is that the ministry has abandoned the program that originally justified such a large expenditure. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫).
Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry spoke at the Yushan Forum in Taipei on Monday, saying that while global conflicts were causing economic strife in the world, Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region and offers strategic opportunities for small island nations such as Fiji, as well as support in the fields of public health, education, renewable energy and agricultural technology. Taiwan does not have official diplomatic relations with Fiji, but it is one of the small island nations covered by the NSP. Chaudhry said that Fiji, as a sovereign nation, should support
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