Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has said he may visit Japan later this year if his health permits, according to a press report yesterday.
"I will go this year if I am in good physical condition," Lee, 86, was quoted as saying by Japan's Jiji Press news agency in an interview.
Lee contracted tuberculosis last May and cancelled a visit to Japan scheduled for last September because he needed medical treatment at home.
PHOTO: CHEN MEI-NIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
In the interview, Lee praised a trip to Beijing made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after he took office in late September.
"Japan had kept kowtowing to China. But it needed to build a strategic relationship of trust and the visit to China by Prime Minister Abe was a success," Lee was quoted as saying.
Asked if Taiwan's independence was his ultimate goal, Lee answered: "I have never mentioned the independence of Taiwan. I have mentioned normalization of the state."
"Our goal is to have a name as a country with its own Constitution, and to join the United Nations as a member of the world," he said, according to Jiji Press. "I am taken as the leader of Taiwan's independence but it is not correct."
In April 2001, Lee made his first trip to Japan after stepping down as president. The visit, aimed at receiving medical treatment, prompted Beijing to cancel a visit to Japan by its then legislative chairman and former premier Li Peng (
Lee also made a sightseeing trip to Japan in 2004.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS