Taiwan should not be overly close to China, so as to maintain the balance of power in the East Asia region, Japanese Diet members were quoted as saying during a recent meeting with visiting Taiwanese lawmakers on issues pertaining to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台列嶼).
Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the islets, known in Japan as the Senkaku islands and by China as the Diaoyu Islands (釣魚群島).
Members of the Chunghua Baodiao Alliance, under the escort of Coast Guard Administration (CGA), on July 4 set sail for the Diaoyutais to emphasize Taiwan’s claims of sovereignty over the archipelago.
The trip proved controversial as the alliance members brought with them the national flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of that of the Republic of China (ROC).
At the time of the incident, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Pasuya Yao (姚文智), Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如), Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) and others were on a visit in Japan.
Huang said yesterday after returning to Taiwan that in a luncheon with Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party representatives Yoshitaka Shindo and Hakubun Shimomura along with Democratic Party of Japan representative Shozo Azuma — all of whom are considered heavyweights within their respective parties — both sides exchanged opinions on the development of Taiwan-Japan relationships, as well as the political situation in Japan.
Due to the conflict with the Japan Coast Guard on the Diaoyutais issue on that same day, Shindo broached the subject, stating that the archipelago was Japanese sovereign territory, but both Taiwan and Japan could discuss fishing rights and joint resource development in the area, Huang said. She added that Shindo’s remarks met with the approval of the other two Japanese representatives.
Yao responded by reaffirming Taiwan’s claims of sovereignty over the archipelago, adding that although there was currently some dispute over the issue, because Japan had once colonized Taiwan and, geographically, the archipelago had belonged to Taiwan at one time, the Japanese government should “cede” the sovereignty of the territory to Taiwan.
Huang added she spoke on the sovereignty issue of the archipelago, stating that both Taiwan and Japan recognized that the archipelago did not belong to the PRC and that the two countries should jointly develop the economic zone around the archipelago.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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