Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) yesterday accused Beijing of interference after Taiwan’s official delegation to the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan was assigned seating in the “international non-governmental organizations [NGO]” area.
“Taiwan is by no means an international NGO, but a sovereign nation that is active on the international stage,” Lee said.
Lee and Chen Ming-chun (陳銘俊), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Fukuoka, attended the ceremony in Nagasaki yesterday, which marked the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan via CNA
That followed Lee’s attendance at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on Wednesday — the first time Taiwan was invited — in which the Taiwanese delegation was seated in the area for diplomatic envoys.
Although Nagasaki initially did not invite Taiwan to the ceremony, the nation’s representatives eventually received an invitation for the first time thanks to multi-party communication and mutual understanding, Lee said, thanking the Nagasaki administration and those who assisted in the process.
However, the event organizers arranged for the Taiwanese delegation to be seated in the “international NGO” area, he said.
Despite the seating arrangement, TECO decided to attend the ceremony, considering Taiwan’s top goal of conveying to the world its determination for pursuing peace and its years of efforts to demonstrate its close connection with the international community, he said.
“We understand that the inappropriate arrangement by the host, Nagasaki City, has its reasons,” Lee said, accusing Beijing of being “the force pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
China, which had taken part in the annual memorial for years, did not attend Saturday’s event, and the Nagasaki government did not provide a reason.
The ceremony, held at Nagasaki Peace Park, commemorated the victims of the atomic bombing by the US on Aug. 9, 1945, which killed an estimated 74,000 people.
It was the second atomic bomb that the US dropped on Japanese soil to stop the Japanese imperial army in Asia, following the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier, which claimed about 140,000 lives.
Most of the casualties were civilians.
Lee cited data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute that showed China’s nuclear arsenal is growing faster than any other country’s.
China’s behavior runs against the noble and peaceful idea of a “world free of nuclear weapons” advocated by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he added.
Lee during the ceremony said that it is deeply regrettable that China, which is expanding its nuclear arsenal, is suppressing Taiwan, which is pursuing peace.
Taiwan has long played an indispensable role in the international society and is the world’s 22nd-largest economy, leading in various fields including high-tech, democratic governance and healthcare, and is absolutely not an “international NGO,” but an active sovereign state, he said.
As a responsible and peace-loving member of the international society, Taiwan would continue to cooperate with Japan, the US and other like-minded partners in countering authoritarian expansion, and protect the peace, stability and sustainable prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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