Japan and Taiwan yesterday marked the 11th anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake with messages of appreciation for mutual assistance during challenging times.
“Every year on March 11, I think of Taiwan,” Japanese Representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi wrote on Facebook, lauding Taiwan for giving “so much assistance and love for Japan” after the March 11, 2011, earthquake.
Taiwan led the world in donating about US$260 million in relief and reconstruction aid to Japan in the wake of the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami.
Photo courtesy of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association
Over the past 11 years, many Japanese have found ways to repay Taiwan and believe it is rare to find such a good neighbor, who is sincere, selfless, loving and dedicated to helping each other, Izumi said.
“We must cherish this genuine friendship between Japan and Taiwan,” he wrote, adding that there are innocent people in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine, whose lives have been trampled on by their neighbors.
Thanking Taiwan for always being there for Japan, Izumi invited Taiwanese to visit Japan and embark on a “spiritual journey with Japanese friends,” to see how people living in the earthquake-
affected areas have recovered and rebuilt their lives over the past 11 years.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that in cases like the 2011 earthquake in Japan or the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan and Japan have helped each other through numerous challenges, making them true friends.
“Taiwan and Japan had rallied to support each other and deal with many difficulties. It is true that a friend in need is a friend indeed,” she said in a video post on Facebook.
During a vaccine shortage as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world, Japan donated vaccines to Taiwan six times, totaling 4.2 million doses, she said.
“Taiwanese were really touched,” Tsai said, adding that “true friendship must be cherished.”
Taiwan and Japan will continue to defend regional peace and stability in the face of changes in the global situation and the expansion of authoritarianism, she added.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said he believed bilateral relations between Taiwan and Japan would grow even closer.
On the basis of solid friendship, the two countries will deepen exchanges in economics, trade, agriculture, culture and disaster prevention to become important partners helping each other whenever needed, he said on Facebook.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan and CNA
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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
RSS