Independence supporters rallied yesterday in support of Japan’s representative to Taiwan after he took flak from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for saying Taiwan’s status was “unresolved.”
Members of the Friends of Lee Teng-Hui Association Formosa (台灣李登輝之友會), a federation of groups supporting the former president, went to the Taipei office of Japan’s Interchange Association — Tokyo’s de facto embassy — to express their support.
Two officials from the Japanese representative office went outside to accept thank you cards and flowers brought by the group, but did not make any comment.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
On Friday, Masaki Saito told an annual meeting of the Republic of China (ROC) International Relations Association at National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi County that Taiwan’s status was “still unresolved.”
He later apologized for the remarks after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) lodged a protest.
Association secretary-general Roger Lin (林志昇) said the group welcomed Saito’s comments.
“The Japanese government told the truth — that Taiwan’s status is not resolved — and the government and Masaki need not apologize,” Lin said.
Lin said that although Saito later said the remarks reflected his personal views only, he believed that the explanation was little more than a diplomatic tactic and that Tokyo took the same position.
The supporters chanted “Taiwan go, Japan go” and “Masaki, go” before leaving.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus resolved yesterday to urge the Executive Yuan to declare Saito persona non grata and ask Tokyo to recall him.
“Masaki Saito seriously sabotaged relations between Taiwan and Japan by making inappropriate remarks that infringed on [Taiwan’s] sovereignty,” the resolution said. “Such an act constituted interference in the nation’s internal affairs. [Saito] overstepped the authority of a diplomat,” the resolution said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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