The office of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) confirmed yesterday that Lee is scheduled to visit Tokyo, Fukushima, and Sendai, Japan, from July 21 to July 26.
Japan’s Jiji Press reported that Lee would visit areas in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
He also plans to give a speech in Tokyo, it said.
Lee’s itinerary is still being finalized, his office said.
Lee visited Japan in September last year for a one-week private visit.
In other news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Ko (柯森耀) has departed for Sao Tome and Principe to attend the African ally’s independence day celebrations.
Ko is leading a delegation that is to attend the country’s celebrations on Sunday to mark the 40th anniversary of its independence, the ministry said in a statement.
During the visit, Ko is scheduled to meet with Sao Tome and Principe President Manuel Pinto da Costa and other senior government officials, the ministry said, adding that Ko would also meet with members of Taiwanese technical and medical missions there to learn about the progress of bilateral cooperative projects in the west African island nation.
During the meeting with Pinto da Costa, Ko is expected to invite him to Taiwan, said David Wang (王建業), director-general of the ministry’s Department of west Asian and African Affairs.
Sao Tome and Principe lies off the coast of west Africa. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and established diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997.
Taiwan has provided Sao Tome and Principe with aid in such fields as public health, agriculture, education, infrastructure, and the treatment and prevention of malaria.
Sao Tome and Principe is one of Taiwan’s 22 diplomatic allies.
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