Yoshinori Kobayashi, a Japanese cartoonist whose controversial comic book On Taiwan (台灣論) triggered widespread criticism in February, has released a new book.
Follow Up to On Taiwan (第二波台灣論), which details the controversies ignited in Taiwan after the release of On Taiwan and his respect for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), hit bookstores yesterday.
The cartoonist was unable to attend the gathering to celebrate the book's release and asked his friend Ko Bunyu (黃文雄), a Taiwanese writer and commentator residing in Japan, to deliver the message.
"In retrospect, although I was barred from entry to Taiwan [after On Taiwan was released in Taiwan], I consider it a precious memory to have experienced Taiwan's democratization which was able to overcome many difficulties along with the people in Taiwan," Kobayashi wrote.
The government barred Kobayashi from entering Taiwan in early March after the release of his book, which claims that Taiwanese women volunteered to work as sex slaves for the Japanese army during World War II. The book was denounced by opposition lawmakers, history scholars and women's groups. The ban was later lifted.
In his new book, the cartoonist recalls how the media in Taiwan -- which is dominated by pro-unificationists -- twisted the meaning of On Taiwan and damaged his reputation. He also says opposition politicians politicized the event in the name of human rights.
The right-wing activist said in his statement that "democratization in Taiwan has grown to maturity given the election victories of the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union [TSU] -- the two pro-Taiwan parties."
"A vital precondition for creating a prosperous future is to first understand the country's history and to clearly recognize its people's identity," Kobayashi wrote.
Calling himself a graduate of the "Lee Teng-hui school," Kobayashi paid tribute to the former president, saying the triumph of the two parties was the result of Lee's love for Taiwan.
Under KMT-rule, Taiwan is remembered as brimming with a strong anti-Japanese sentiment. However, Ng Chiautong (黃昭堂), chairman of the World United Formosans for Independence, said this was largely a misconception.
"Kobayashi's book can therefore serve as a medium for Taiwan to interact with Japan .... Japan should be our closest partner if Taiwan aims to break free from its isolation in the international community."
Shu Chin-chiang (
"It should be the obligation of Taiwanese to write our own history," he said.
Echoing Kobayashi's views on the significance of recognizing the country's identity, Shu said all of the political, social and cultural conflicts in Taiwan could be solved once and for all if Taiwan had a clear identity. He said the TSU's election campaign had only one recognizable strategy: that Taiwan is our motherland.
"The fact that Taiwanese don't know where their country is is our biggest crisis. We have gone everywhere to look for our nation, but it is right here," Shu said.
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,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS