The Japanese government yesterday said it would not send representatives to the Beijing Olympics as it called on China to respect human rights and the rule of law.
Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno did not describe the move as a diplomatic boycott — which has been announced by the US and others — but said there were “no plans” for officials to attend the Games.
“Japan believes it is important that common values shared by the international community, such as freedom, human rights and the rule of law, are also respected in China,” he said. “As Tokyo 2020 demonstrated to the world, the Olympics and the Paralympics are festivals of peace and sports.”
Photo: REUTERS
Australia, Canada, the UK and the Us this month announced diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Olympics over what they consider to be widespread rights abuses by China, including against the Muslim Uighur minority.
Their boycott stops short of not sending athletes to the Games, which start on Feb. 4.
Beijing has said that the four nations would “pay the price” for the US-led campaign.
Japan, which hosted the Tokyo Olympics this year after the Games were postponed due to COVID-19, is in a tricky position as tensions simmer between the US and China, which are key trade partners.
Matsuno said that the decision had been made after “comprehensive” consideration, adding that Japan has held discussions with Chinese officials on human rights issues “at various levels.”
Tokyo 2020 Olympics Organizing Committee president Seiko Hashimoto and Japan Olympic Committee president Yasuhiro Yamashita would attend the Beijing Games.
“Hashimoto will attend to express gratitude and respect to the athletes and others who supported the Tokyo Games,” Matsuno said.
Japan Paralympic Committee president Kazuyuki Mori would attend the Beijing Winter Paralympics in March, he added.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said Beijing “welcomes the Japanese Olympic Committee and other relevant officials, as well as Japanese athletes,” but urged “the Japanese side to honor promises to support each other in hosting the Olympic Games and to not politicize sports.”
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS