President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday cited historical references to defend the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and said that the government would not compromise in the fight over the islands’ sovereignty.
In discussing the sovereignty disputes over the islands, Ma said the disputed Diaoyutais fell under the administration of the Qing Dynasty until they were taken by Japan after 1895, and cited the Shanghai-based daily Shun Pao’s report on Japan’s attempts to occupy the Diaoyutai Islands on Sept. 6, 1885.
Although the Qing Dynasty knew about Japan’s attempt to occupy the islands, the Diaoyutais were occupied by the Japanese without the knowledge of the Qing government at some point after 1895, while Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki at the end of the first Sino-Japanese War.
“We do not recognize the Japanese occupation because it is invalid under international law ... The Republic of China government will fight for every inch of our territory to defend our sovereignty,” he told a seminar organized by Academia Historica.
In the wake of the Japanese government’s decision to ignore protests from Taiwan and China and proceed with its plan to buy three of the disputed islands from their private owner for ¥2.05 billion (US$26 million), Ma renewed his proposal for the three countries to put aside disputes and jointly develop the resource-rich area.
“If we can all acknowledge the sovereignty disputes, put the issue aside and focus our efforts on developing the resources there, I believe it will contribute to regional peace and stability,” he said.
Amid ongoing disputes over the sovereignty of the islands, Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) has been ordered back to Taiwan to provide the government with a full briefing. He presented a report on the situation to Ma, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添).
Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) said Ma had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek Japan’s support for his proposed “East China Sea peace initiative.”
He said Ma expected bilateral exchanges to be continue despite the sovereignty disputes.
The president also pledged to protect the rights of local fishermen who conducted fishing activities around the Diaoyutais, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and