Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said on Friday in Osaka that he agreed with the idea of Japan enacting its own version of the US’ Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), but that he understood it would be very difficult for Japan to do.
Lee expressed his views on several topics at a press conference after arriving in Osaka earlier on Friday for a week-long private visit to Japan, his sixth such trip in 14 years, according to the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, which helped organize the trip.
Asked by Japanese media about what a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act would entail, Lee did not offer a substantive answer, but said that Taiwan’s relationship with Japan is special and different from its relationship with other countries and that he supported the idea advocated by the association.
However, Lee said that it would be difficult to promote a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act because Japanese are split over whether Taiwan or China is more important to them.
Instituting a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act would also be unlikely to bring significant economic benefits to Taiwan, Lee said, adding that currently, the most important thing was how to improve the friendship between the people of the two countries.
The Taiwan Relations Act requires the US to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character and help in matters of national defense.
Lee was also asked if the promise by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to remove the ban on the use of collective self-defense rights was related to the Taiwan Relations Act idea, but Lee answered that it was not.
Abe’s unprecedented push for the right to collective self-defense has drawn the attention of many regional neighbors, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and India, which have become more interested in forging close ties with Japan after China’s aggressive moves over disputed territories.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS