The controversy over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) should be viewed from an historical perspective and as an act of invasion by Japan against Chinese territory rather than an issue related to political and economic interests, a government official said yesterday.
“In the eyes of the people of China, it was an incident that cannot be compartmentalized from the history of intrusion into China by Japan. Japan should look at the issue from this perspective,” said Shaw Yu-ming (邵玉銘), chairman of the Coordination Council of North American Affairs (CCNAA).
The CCNAA, the headquarters of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, was established as a counterpart to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) after the termination of diplomatic ties between the US and the Republic of China (ROC).
Addressing a forum on the Diaoyutais, Shaw suggested Japan and China utilize international arbitration to resolve the dispute over the islands because they are both UN members subject to the UN convention that calls for parties to to resolve territorial issues peacefully.
Judging from the tension between Japan and China surrounding the Diaoyutais in the past, “the issue may well become a flash point,” and therefore, bringing the issue to an international court would be the only way to prevent military conflicts between the two countries, he said.
In response to questions from the Taipei Times on whether his suggestion would leave Taiwan no say in the matter given that the country has no access to international courts, he said that was less important than the fact that the Diaoyutais are currently controlled and administered by Japan.
If the international court rules that the islands belong to China and not Japan, “it would be good for us because China would agree that Taiwan owns the Diaoyutai Islands,” as it did in 1871 when the islands belonged to the Kavalan Prefecture administration office, now Yilan County, which was then incorporated into Fujian Province during the Qing dynasty, he said.
Earlier at the forum, Wu Jinan (吳寄南), director and senior fellow of the Department of Japanese Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Shaw Han-yi (紹漢儀), a research fellow at the Research Center for the International Legal Studies at National Chengchi University, as well as other Chinese and Taiwanese academics, presented papers to rebut Japan’s claims to sovereignty over the islands.
Examining related legal claims and historical evidence under international law and traditional East Asian order, the academics concluded that the Diaoyutais belong to “China.”
Asked to comment on the conclusion, Shaw Yu-ming said he did not find it problematic saying the islands belong to China as opposed to the ROC.
“Like I said, the Diaoyutai Islands were incorporated into the Kavalan Prefecture administration office in 1837. At that time, the ROC had not been established. Furthermore, the ROC is also part of China. China is the generic term for the ROC and the People’s Republic of China [PRC]. This case shows why the ‘1992 consensus’ is necessary. For us, it’s the ROC, and for the mainland, it’s the PRC. Together, it’s China,” he said.
Shaw Yu-ming said he agreed to the suggestion made by several Chinese academics at the forum that “China shall publicly declare its position that the Diaoyutai Islands belong to Taiwan.”
“If we say that the Diaoyutais belong to ‘China,’ it would lead some people in Taiwan to wonder why they need to fight for sovereignty of the islands. But if China declares that the Diaoyutai Islands belong to Taiwan, which I think it would not oppose because Taiwan is part of its territory in China’s view, the problem would be solved,” Shaw Yu-ming said.
Shaw Yu-ming said he did not see his statement as being against the position of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) who, in an interview with two Japanese newspapers, the Yomiuri Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun in July, ruled out aligning Taiwan with China in dealing with issues related to the disputed islands.
“If China makes the declaration, it is just a statement, not collaboration whatsoever,” Shaw Yu-ming said.
Yesterday’s forum, the third of its kind following two held by Soochow University, was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and National Chengchi University.
It was the first time MOFA has participated in the forum.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS