Japan said yesterday it was “disappointing” China did not send anyone to a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the two countries.
Beijing’s apparent snub came after Japan invited representatives from Taiwan to take part on an equal footing with other diplomats in the national remembrance for people killed in the disaster.
The move also came as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing simmer over a territorial row, with Chinese government ships yesterday spotted in disputed waters, the latest salvo in a spat over the sovereignty of uninhabited Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), also claimed by Taiwan.
“The Japanese government explained to China that we would treat Taiwan appropriately in this ceremony considering its enormous support to us,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
Tokyo told Beijing “that this would not change Japan’s position over the status of Taiwan as stipulated in the Japan-China Joint Communique, but China didn’t understand and was absent from the ceremony, which is extremely disappointing and a great pity,” he said.
In the 1972 joint communique, Japan recognized Beijing “as the sole legal government of China.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said yesterday that Beijing had made its position known to Tokyo.
“We believe that Japan’s behavior has violated the principles and spirit of the China-Japan Joint Statement and the commitments of the Japanese side,” Hua said. “We urge Japan to match its words and deeds regarding the issue of Taiwan, to honor its commitment and not play games.”
Suga said that no diplomatic representative from South Korea had been at the tsunami ceremony. However, he said Seoul informed Tokyo on Monday that its envoy’s absence was due to a clerical error.
Japan and South Korea have a dispute over a different set of islands, which sit in the sea midway between the two nations.
Taiwan donated US$260 million in relief and reconstruction aid to Japan, the most of any country in the world, in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami.
On the first anniversary of the disaster, Japan’s then-government, led by former Japanese prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, excluded Taiwan’s representative from a list of countries and territories read out at the ceremony. Taiwan’s omission was at the time criticized by Japanese lawmakers and media as being ungrateful. Noda later openly apologized over the snub.
Japan’s representative office in Taipei had published half-page “thank you” advertisements in major newspapers in Taiwan, recording the government’s gratitude for aid from Taiwan.
Monday’s memorial service was held at the National Theater in central Tokyo at 2:46pm, the same time the devastating earthquake struck Japan two years ago.
The participants, including Japanese Emperor Akihiko, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, family members of the victims in hard-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, and foreign ambassadors, first observed a minute’s silence.
Japan expressed its appreciation for the concern shown by other nations at the time of the disasters and the assistance they provided.
The names of those countries were read out, with the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan” used for Taiwan.
Taiwan’s representative to Japan, Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳), and ambassadors from other nations were then invited to present flowers in memory of the victims of the disaster, which left nearly 20,000 people dead.
Shen’s presence was notable because the Japanese government did not arrange for Taiwanese officials to sit in the areas for foreign ambassadors or allow them to go on stage to present flowers at last year’s anniversary event.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS