Taiwan welcomes an invitation to attend next month’s peace memorial ceremony in Nagasaki, Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The invitation from Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki came after Hiroshima in May invited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan (TECRO) to attend its peace memorial ceremony.
Hiroshima’s ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 6, while Nagasaki’s is on Aug. 9, 80 years after the atomic bombings during World War II.
Photo: CNA
About 2,700 people are expected to attend Nagasaki’s ceremony, about 300 more than last year, the city said.
“We have already replied to their [Taiwan’s] requests and confirmed that they are welcome to attend,” Suzuki told a news conference on Saturday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokeswoman Chen Yi-chun (陳怡君) said that the government welcomes the invitation from Nagasaki, adding that TECRO’s branch in Fukuoka is coordinating the matter with the Nagasaki City Government.
The office would select the best person to attend the ceremony after receiving the official invitation, Chen said.
Asked about the significance of Taiwan attending peace memorial ceremonies in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the first time, Chen said that the events highlight the importance of freedom, democracy and peace, which are essential values of the “integrated diplomacy” championed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
Meanwhile, Taiwan is to send delegations to the Third Senior Official Meeting and other meetings at the APEC Summit in Incheon, South Korea, from July 26 to Aug. 15, the ministry said.
Four ministerial-level meetings are scheduled: the Anti-Corruption and Transparency High-Level Dialogue, the Digital Ministers’ Meeting, the Food Security Ministers’ Meeting, and the Women and the Economy Forum, it added.
Artificial intelligence and global changes in population structure would be two main subjects discussed during the meetings, Department of International Organization Deputy Girector-General Chang Chih-sha (張芝颯) said.
“As the host country, South Korea would strive to facilitate dialogues on these two issues between the government and private sectors,” Chang said.
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