Japan needs to face up to its wartime past and develop its relationships with neighboring countries “from a forward-looking perspective,” Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) told the legislature yesterday.
Shen made the remarks when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) and Yang Ying-hsiung (楊應雄) his views on the recent spate of nationalist tones and gestures of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other politicians.
Lin said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had failed to take action and protest against the Japanese government’s “denial and distortion of history” and demanded that the ministry act like South Korea, which has accused Japan of not looking squarely at history.
Despite the importance of the relationship with Japan and the cordial ties between the two countries’ people, the government should lodge a protest against Japan over the matter “in a timely and appropriate manner,” Yang said.
“What we saw in Tokyo was that, apart from what the Japanese government has said, dissenting opinions have arisen. The issue is still evolving and we will pay close attention,” Shen said.
The representative office in Tokyo has never softened its stance and expressions on issues of concern to national interests, Shen said, adding that Taiwan would continue to maintain friendly bilateral relations.
Several Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers asked him about his “lack of fluency” in Japanese. Shen replied that he had been working on learning the language and attends Japanese-language classes every week.
Shen added that the language issue has never hindered him from “precisely” conveying the nation’s position on issues related to the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) East China Sea Peace Initiative in his talks with the Japanese side.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS