Undeterred by protesters dogging his controversial visit to Taiwan, the governor of Tokyo told his Taipei counterpart yesterday that he is interested in enhancing links between the two capital cities. He declined, however, to give a direct answer to the proposal of establishing sister-city ties.
After avoiding having to run a gauntlet of protests by entering the Regent Hotel through a side door, Shintaro Ishihara (
Before the closed-door meeting began, Ma said that although flights between Taipei and Tokyo are as frequent as 59 a week, and over 700,000 Taiwanese visit Japan and vice versa annually, there is room for improving ties between the two cities.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Ishihara's answer, in front of a roomful reporters, was affirmative.
"Taipei is a capital, so is Tokyo. Taipei-Tokyo relations should be defined as city-to-city interactions, and I think it is a good thing to see both cities push for exchanges in cultural and economic areas," Ishihara said through a translator.
"I totally agree with such a proposal," Ma said, adding that Taipei needs to learn from Tokyo when considering how to improve its disaster management system.
"We [city officials] intend to travel to Tokyo to make a survey of related facilities there," Ma said.
"But similar moves in the past have met with difficulties. So I hope you can assist us to overcome these difficulties," Ma said.
"Anytime will do. I welcome Taipei to send delegates to Tokyo," Ishihara said.
Pleasantries aside, the ensuing 20-minute meeting got under way with a clear avoidance of sensitive political issues, city officials said.
King Pu-tsung (
Ishihara's polite refusal to say "yes" to Taipei's proposal to establish sister-city ties with Tokyo yesterday was not at all surprising, insiders said. After all, Ishihara had already poured cold water on a similar offer by Ma made last June in a letter carried by a Taiwanese lawyer, Wang Chin-fong (
Most obviously, such a decision to recognize Taipei would entail cutting the sister-city ties which have been established for the past 20 years with Beijing.
Still, Ma was undaunted, asking Wang yesterday to continue acting as a go-between with Ishihara to push for the establishment of sister-city links, King said.
Ishihara also told Lung Ying-tai (
"We will e-mail our counterparts [in Tokyo today] to establish a bridge first before discussing details on how to realize the proposal," said Lung, who had presented a related proposal to Ishihara yesterday.
Yet although political issues didn't take center stage during yesterday's meeting, it was difficult for Ishihara to avoid controversy as he continued his trip. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the hotel to voice their displeasure with Ishihara -- who they claimed was "a symbol of Japanese militarism."
Holding signs such as "Shintaro Ishihara, get the hell out of here," the protesters shouted slogans while waiting for him to appear.
Several protesters said Ishihara had offended Taiwanese by casually dismissing the Nanjing massacre, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese were slaughtered by Japanese troops in World War II. They also condemned Ishihara for having talked tough over a disputed island group in the West China Sea, known as the Tiaoyutai in Chinese and the Senkaku in Japan. It is at present controlled by Japan.
On the other hand, Ishihara's criticism of China has also won him many friends in Taiwan. The Tokyo governor has gone on record as saying China's threat to reunify Taiwan through military force is destabilizing Asia's regional security.
And yesterday, Ishihara said in an interview with Fuji TV that Chinese President Jiang Zemin's (
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS