South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak sought yesterday to turn the page in fraught relations with Japan, pledging to cooperate over North Korea and to avoid “knee-jerk” reactions.
Lee is the first South Korean leader to visit Japan in more than three years amid lingering bitterness over Japan’s 1910 to 1945 rule over the Korean Peninsula.
In a televised meeting with students and other members of the public, Lee compared the relationship to Japan to an adult remaining resentful decades later about being punched by a childhood classmate who has long forgotten about the incident.
“We must truly become close countries, not just geographically but also emotionally,” Lee said with a smile.
And in a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Lee agreed to restart talks on a free-trade deal. Negotiations broke down in November 2004 as both countries tried to shield key industries.
The two leaders also decided to restart a plan for “shuttle diplomacy” of two summits a year and to step up exchanges, including through a new working holiday plan.
“Of course we cannot forget about the past when we think about relations between Japan and South Korea. But we must not let the past hamper moves towards the future,” Lee said after talks with Fukuda.
“I don’t think we need a knee-jerk reaction every time a politician takes individual action. Politicians can express their opinions in every country,” he said in an apparent reference to Japanese prime ministers’ visits to Yasukuni shrine, which helped sour relations between the two countries.
Lee also met Emperor Akihito and invited him to visit Seoul, a palace spokesman said.
“We think there will be an opportunity sometime. But we are not in a position now to consider the timing and schedule,” chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said.
An official North Korean Web site was quick to blast Lee for inviting the emperor, said the Tokyo-based Korea News Service, which covers North Korean affairs.
“Traitor Lee Myung-Bak is forcing his way to sell the country to Japan, an act not even realized by successive [previous] rulers who were denounced as top-rate pro-Japan traitors,” the “Comrades of our nation” Web site said.
Fukuda said that Lee understood the Japanese position.
“I felt encouraged. I believe Japan and South Korea will be able to cooperate more closely than ever,” Fukuda said.
“On the nuclear issue, we confirmed the need for North Korea to swiftly make a correct and full declaration,” he told the joint news conference with Lee.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS