Taiwan and Japan are of a “community of peace,” Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said in a television interview in Tokyo on Wednesday, while suggesting that Japan should play a more active role in maintaining world peace.
“We often say that Taiwan and Japan are of the community of common destiny, but the two countries are of a ‘community of peace,’” Hsieh told Taiwan Voice program hosts Yanki Fujii and Lin Jian-liang (林建良).
“Aside from bolstering defense capabilities, Japan cannot give up on peace,” he added.
Photo Courtesy of Taiwan Voice
Lin, a physician and an expatriate living in Japan, has for many years been dedicated to Taiwan’s democratic development and independence, while Fujii is an expert on Taiwanese issues.
Both have advocated Taiwanese sovereignty in print and online publications.
Hsieh spent the first half of the two-hour interview discussing how his studies at Kyoto University, a school known for a rebellious spirit, inspired his devotion to democratic movements in Taiwan.
This led to him becoming a defense lawyer for the accused in the Formosa Incident on Dec. 10, 1979, and his cofounding of the Democratic Progressive Party, Hsieh said.
“China has been saying that Taiwan is its core interest, but peace is actually the core interest of the international community,” Hsieh said. “Communism is a power without love, while peace is a power with love.”
Japan having experienced the only two atomic bombs used during wartime — at the end of World War II — led to a constitution based on pacifism, Hsieh said.
As such, the country is most qualified to play a leading role in preserving world peace, he said.
As Japan is likely to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, many nations in East and Southeast Asia hope that Tokyo can be a leader in maintaining regional peace, he said, adding that the country should feel confident about assuming such a role.
While Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that no unilateral changes to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait should be allowed, Hsieh said that those protecting peace need to be united to impose international sanctions on countries or individuals who challenge the principle.
Only by doing so can power be shown, he said.
“Peace without power and without actions is only a statement, and pacifism without might is a tragedy,” Hsieh said.
Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore enjoy economic prosperity because of peace, and any disruption to that peace is absolutely unacceptable, he added.
“I hope that that Prime Minister Kishida practices what he preaches, or it would be nothing but words,” he said.
Relations between Taiwan and Japan are a rare example of peace in Asia and should serve as a model to the world, he said.
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