Government officials and politicians came out in support yesterday of former president Lee Teng-hui's (
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that Japan's refusal to grant a visa could seriously harm relations between the two countries. The two nations have strong economic ties but lack an official diplomatic relationship.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao
PHOTO: HAKU HUANG, TAIPEI TIMES
China vehemently opposes travel by any of Taiwan's leaders to any foreign country because it sees such trips as a threat to its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. Beijing is pressuring Tokyo not to allow Lee to visit.
"There are no laws in Japan that bar Lee from making that trip. Therefore, Japan should base [it's decision] on humanitarian concerns and allow the trip in conformity with the norms of a civilized country," Tien said.
"Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on ties between Japan and Taiwan," he said.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was more critical, saying that "if the Japanese government again succumbs [to pressure from China], it will still be a wealthy country, but a cruel one (為富不仁)."
"For the past decade, Japan has not fulfilled its obligations to international society in accordance with social justice. The shame is on the Japanese government and all Japanese. This time, it takes courage and morality for Japan to make that final decision," Lu said yesterday.
Lu went on to lash out at young people who are enamored with Japanese culture, calling it "a disgrace to the nation" (
Though Lee's wish to visit Japan has been highly politicized, government officials -- including the president and the premier -- yesterday continued to downplay the issue, but did provide assistance to Lee through formal diplomatic channels.
Meanwhile, some KMT and DPP legislators joined forces to petition the Japan Interchange Association in Taipei with a written statement, urging Japan to allow Lee's medical trip on the grounds of humanitarian concerns.
DPP legislators Tang Bi-a (
"Whether Japan will allow Lee's trip will determine whether it is a democratic country that safeguards human rights or a hegemonic country," Tang said before presenting the petition letter to Yamashita.
Chang said that "if Japan turns down Lee's application, it will not be qualified as an advanced nation."
Hung acknowledged that Japan was under great pressure, but Chiu wondered why the US would allow Lee to visit in May, while Tokyo was likely to refuse him a chance for a medical examination in Japan.
The KMT, except for those who are regarded as being part of Lee's faction, did not voice support for him yesterday. KMT spokeswoman Chen Feng-hsin (
When Lee was still in office, his doctor, Lien Wen-ping (連文彬), had sworn several times that Lee had "the stomach of a 30-year-old and the body of 50-year-old."
But Lee's revelations on Sunday about his health triggered criticism about whether the doctor had lied to the public. Another presidential doctor, Chiang Pi-ning (姜必寧) -- who had attended former presidents Chiang Kai-shek
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS