Japan's highest court on Tuesday sided with Beijing over Taiwan in a lengthy wrangle over a student dormitory that turned the spotlight on Tokyo's policy toward China.
Taiwan had won previous lawsuits saying it owned the dormitory, which has housed Chinese students in the western city of Kyoto since World War II.
But Japan's Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings Yesterday, saying Taipei had lost its right to file a claim as the representative of China after Tokyo decided in 1972 to recognize Beijing instead.
PHOTO: AFP
Taiwan bought the five-story building in Kyoto in 1950 at a time when it was recognized as China's legitimate government by Tokyo.
In 1967, during the height of the Cultural Revolution, Taiwan filed a lawsuit seeking to evict pro-Beijing students.
But the case was still unresolved when Tokyo established relations a few years later with Beijing and dropped its recognition of Taipei.
An initial ruling supported the pro-Beijing students, saying the dormitory legally belonged to communist China. But two subsequent court rulings backed Taiwan, saying it still existed even if it does not enjoy Japan's recognition.
The Japanese government has supported the pro-Beijing students due to its policy of recognizing "one China."
With the Supreme Court's ruling effectively meaning Taiwan did not have the right to be the plaintiff, the case was sent back to a Kyoto district court for re-examination.
The Taiwanese and Chinese missions in Tokyo and Japan's government declined to comment.
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
RSS