Taiwan welcomed yesterday Japan's decision to issue a visa to former president Lee Teng-hui (
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda announced in a press conference that Tokyo agreed to allow Lee to travel to Japan as a private citizen after he promised not to engage in any political activities during his stay.
Tokyo notified Beijing of its decision on Wednesday, Hosoda said. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later told reporters that Japan had no reason to reject Lee's visa application but stressed Japan wanted to continue developing its relationship with China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"We demand that the Japanese side revoke such a decision immediately. Otherwise it will of, course, have a negative impact on relations between China and Japan," Liu said, adding the visit was "by no means personal or one of nostalgia."
"I think his activities in Japan constitute a provocation against the reunification of China and we are strongly opposed to all kinds or forms of connivance with such activities," Liu said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei welcomed Japan's decision. Gary Lin (
The Japan Interchange Association (JIA) in Taipei said yesterday Lee has not filed his visa application yet.
"He might take the trip at the end of this year," an official at the association said.
Japanese media reported Lee might travel to the Kansai area, famous for its hot springs.
The Central News Agency quoted a close friend of Lee as saying that Lee has not decided whether to take the trip at the end of the year because his wife Tseng Wen-hui (
Lee once said he wished to bring Taiwan's Aboriginal children to Japan to perform singing and dancing when campaigning for the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) legislative candidates, according to the agency.
"It has been former president Lee's hope to visit Japan and the US, particularly Japan," said TSU Secretary General Lin Jih-jia (
Lee's visit to Japan would be his first since he received treatment for a heart condition at a Japanese hospital in 2001. At that time, Tokyo said it had granted Lee entry to Japan in 2001 on "humanitarian grounds."
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS