A Japanese newspaper yesterday expressed “regret” over any confusion caused by a story it published on Tuesday last week in which it quoted an unidentified source as saying that many discharged military personnel in Taiwan become spies for China.
The Japanese-language Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei, said in a statement that it regretted the “confusion” caused by its article, titled “Unknown truths about Taiwan part 1.”
The comments in the article “introduce the views and opinions of the interviewees, and do not represent the views of Nihon Keizai Shimbun,” the statement said, adding that the paper would continue to strive to report with fairness.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
At no point in the statement did the Nikkei back down from the assertions in its report or suggest that they might be inaccurate.
The statement was issued after Taiwan’s representative office in Tokyo demanded on behalf of the government, in particular the Ministry of National Defense, that the paper issue a correction.
In the first part of a series, the report quoted an anonymous source as saying that 90 percent of retired Taiwanese military officers later travel to China and provide intelligence to China for money.
The article also said that top positions in the defense ministry have long been held by “Chinese Mainlanders,” referring to Taiwanese born in China before the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in 1949 moved to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War.
Armed forces led by such pro-China personnel could not possibly fend off Chinese invaders, the report cited the sources as saying.
Following the article’s release, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) called the claims “ungrounded” and “demoralizing” to Taiwanese troops, adding that he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a protest to the Nikkei and demand an explanation.
In response to the Nikkei statement yesterday, the foreign ministry said it appreciated the clarification and hoped that rationality would prevail.
It also said that the government would ensure that the integrity and loyalty of its armed forces are not questioned or tarnished, as they defend the country and its people.
At the legislature, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that the Nikkei statement should “mark the end” of the controversy.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS