The Legislative Yuan’s parliamentary friendship association for the East Asian region yesterday announced that it is officially inviting former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to visit Taiwan next year.
The group held a news conference and presented copies of a letter of invitation for Abe to give a speech at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Next year would be a momentous occasion for Japan, with the nation marking the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, as well as the proposed staging of the delayed Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, it said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The letter cited the strong friendship between Taiwan and Japan, and how the two countries have aided each other in times of need.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), head of the association, said he believed that next year would be the best time to invite Abe, as he would have had time to recuperate after stepping down as prime minister due to health reasons.
Abe had made it possible for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to visit and address the Japanese Diet on his views on democracy and other academic topics, DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said.
The Legislative Yuan, as a representative of Taiwan’s citizenry, is the best proxy in expressing its friendship to other countries, DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said.
Abe is seen as a political figure who has been most friendly toward Taiwan and the invitation could pave the way for even closer relations between the two nations, she said.
Taiwan and Japan enjoy very friendly non-government relations and a visit by Abe would boost bilateral relations, which is especially heartening as Taiwan is faced with an unfriendly neighbor, DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said.
Chang said he hoped that in the future, high-level government officials from Taiwan and Japan would be able to visit each other.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said the ministry would like to thank the association for its contributions to furthering Taiwan-Japan relations.
Abe had on multiple occasions expressed that Taiwan and Japan have shared values, and that Taiwan is a “cherished friend and partner,” she said.
Under Abe, the Japanese government was amenable to Taiwan joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and other international bodies, such as the WHO, she added.
The ministry will continue to deepen relations with Japan, while stepping up efforts to enhance ties with Abe and other Japanese officials, Ou said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
BREAKING RECORDS: Kuo Hsing-chun’s snatch, clean and jerk, and combined lifts were all Olympic records, although well off her combined world record Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) yesterday completed her elusive quest for Olympic gold, clinching Taiwan’s first win at the Tokyo Games as she set Olympic records in the women’s under-59kg weight class. Kuo, who has not lost a major competition in her weight class since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she was hampered by injury and finished third, finally chased down the gold medal that had long remained just out of her grasp. The 27-year-old finished with a combined lift of 236kg — 103kg in the snatch and 133kg in the clean and jerk — 21kg more
A TAIWAN FIRST: The duo are the first badminton players from Taiwan to climb an Olympic podium, and Tai Tzu-ying has a shot at doing the same today Taiwanese badminton duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) yesterday won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport when they prevailed over a third-seeded Chinese pair in the final of the men’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics. Lee and Wang, both first-time Olympians, defeated Liu Yuchen (劉雨辰) and Li Junhui (李俊慧) 21-18, 21-12 in a 34-minute final at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. As of yesterday, Taiwan had bagged seven medals in Tokyo — two golds, two silvers and three bronzes — topping its previous best of five medals in 2000 and 2004. Taiwan moved to No. 17 in the
NO ‘ONE CHINA’ LIE: The appropriations act passed the US House of Representatives with a vote of 217-212, but still needs Senate approval and the president’s signature The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a foreign assistance spending bill with an amendment forbidding that funds be used to create, procure or display maps depicting Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China. The amendment was introduced by five Republican representatives — Tom Tiffany, Steve Chabot, Scott Perry, Kat Cammack and Mike Gallagher — and passed unanimously in a bundle with a dozen other amendments. “This is a common sense measure,” Tiffany said, speaking on the House floor on Wednesday. “As we all know, Taiwan has never been part of communist China. The Taiwanese people elect their
THE HOME TEAM: DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu said she canceled her booking for an AstraZeneca shot as soon as she heard that the Medigen vaccine was an option President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she would get inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗). Tsai wrote on Facebook that she had registered for her first vaccine dose using the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system, which allows people to indicate their preferred vaccine brand and to make an appointment when the shot becomes available. Tsai said that she opted for the Medigen vaccine — one of three now available on the system, along with the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines — even though Medigen has yet to deliver any doses or provide a
RSS