President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday ordered public institutions to fly the nation’s flag at half-mast tomorrow to honor former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed on Friday after being shot during a campaign event in western Japan.
All Taiwanese flags at government buildings and public schools across Taiwan will be flown at half-mast for one day to honor Abe’s decades-long contributions to promoting bilateral ties between Taiwan and Japan, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement.
The move is also intended to show that Taiwan stands with Japan in firmly defending freedom and democracy, Chang said, adding that Abe was a staunch supporter of Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
He said that Abe helped facilitate Japan’s donation of 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan last year amid a shortage, and lauded the quality of Taiwanese pineapples on social media after China blocked imports of the fruit in August last year.
Abe was also the forerunner in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and had repeatedly underscored the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chang added.
Abe died on Friday evening, at the age of 67, hours after being shot twice during an election campaign in Nara, Japan. A 41-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene.
Taiwanese politicians across the political spectrum have expressed their condolences, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) denouncing the assassination as “violating the basic principles of a democratic and rule-based society.”
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said that Tsai would decide whether Taiwan is to send a parliamentary delegation to Japan to pay tribute to Abe, whose funeral has been set for Tuesday.
You said that Abe had agreed to visit the nation and planned to give a speech at the Legislative Yuan, but “sadly, that won’t be happening anymore.”
“Abe will be forever missed by Taiwanese,” You added.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said that the National Palace Museum could be used to hold a special exhibition in memory of Abe at its southern branch in Chiayi County.
The branch had previously hosted exhibitions featuring Japanese culture, including works of art from the Tokyo National Museum, Kyushu National Museum and Kobe City Museum, making it a good fit to hold such a special event to enable Taiwanese to learn more about Abe’s life and his relations with Taiwan, he added.
Additional reporting by Wang Chien-hao and Lin Yi-chang
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS