Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called yesterday for an end to nuclear weapons as he toured a memorial to the horror of the world’s first atomic bombing.
Rudd started a visit to Japan, aimed at easing doubts about his commitment to the two countries’ alliance, with a tour of Hiroshima, where a partially destroyed dome lies as a memorial to the nuclear attack.
The first Australian prime minister to visit the memorial was joined by his wife, Therese Rein, as they laid a wreath and toured a museum documenting the Aug. 6, 1945, attack.
He wrote in the museum guest book: “Let the world resolve afresh from the ashes of this city — to work together for the common mission of peace for this Asia-Pacific century, and for a world where one day nuclear weapons are no more.”
He echoed his remarks in public remarks, saying: “Hiroshima should cause the world community to resolve afresh that all humankind must exert their every effort for peace in this 21st century.”
The US dropped an atomic bomb on the city in the early morning, killing about 140,000 people either immediately or in the months that followed from radiation injuries or horrific burns.
Three days later, an even more powerful nuclear bomb flattened Nagasaki, killing another 70,000 people. Japan surrendered six days afterwards, ending World War II.
Rudd has taken a harder line on nuclear issues since taking office last year, reversing a decision to sell uranium to India because New Delhi has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
His commitment on nuclear issues will likely be welcomed in Japan, where the election of Rudd’s Labor Party was received with some unease last year.
Japanese officials were privately irate when Rudd, a Sinophile, visited China rather than Japan on his first major overseas visit that also took him to the US and Europe.
Rudd has also ramped up pressure on Japan over whaling, sending a customs vessel to monitor Tokyo’s controversial annual hunt in the Antarctic Ocean.
Japan, which says that whaling is part of its culture, kills hundreds of the giant mammals each year in defiance of strong protests by Australia and New Zealand.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS