Former president Lee Teng-hui (
The former president is scheduled to depart for Tokyo on Nov. 23 where he will be a guest speaker for Keio University, one of the nation's most prestigious schools, on the following day.
Lee is expected to deliver a one-hour speech entitled "the Spirit of Japan."
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Appearing at TSU headquarters yesterday to stump for the party's city councilor candidates, Lee told reporters he had not yet applied for a visa. He said he hoped the media would not exaggerate the importance of his trip because too many reports might hinder his plan.
"I will file my visa application when you [the reporters] are quiet," he said.
Lee's trips to Japan have always been a sensitive issue as China scorns Lee for trying to break Taiwan's diplomatic isolation during his 12 years in power. Beijing has warned Japan not to allow Lee to visit.
In April of last year, Lee was in Japan to undergo medial treatment for a heart ailment.
But his trip divided Japanese officials and his visa was not issued until the last minute after Lee mocked the nation by saying that "the guts of the Japanese government are as small as that of a mouse."
But TSU officials are optimistic about Lee's forthcoming trip later this month.
Chen Horng-chi (
Chen, the newly-appointed director for the TSU's organization department, said several Japanese congressmen and public opinion in Japan are supportive of Lee's trip.
Chen said he had questioned the Japanese Interchange Association in Taipei, whose officials said that Lee's visits to Japan always touch a political nerve.
The new TSU director noted that to express their sincerity, three Japanese students from Keio University had come to Taiwan last month to extend their invitation to the former president in person. The former president was said to be deeply moved by their sincerity.
Lee's trip has been arranged by Tokyo-based national policy adviser Alice King (金美齡).
King said last month, when she was in Taipei, that Lee would probably be allowed to visit Japan because the Japanese public is highly supportive of his visits.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS