Former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) assertion that the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) belong to Japan and not Taiwan amounts to “an act that humiliates the nation and forfeits its sovereignty,” Presidential Office spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday.
Chen made the remarks yesterday after Lee reiterated his long-held view that sovereignty over the disputed islands in the East China Sea lies with Japan while answering questions at a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday.
According to media reports, Lee referred to the islands by their Japanese name, the Senkaku Islands, and not as the Diaoyutai Islands, the designation used in Taiwan. The islands are also claimed by China as the Diaoyu Archipelago.
Photo: CNA
“In the past, I have repeatedly said that the Senakaku Islands are part of the territory of Japan, not of Taiwan,” Lee was reported as having said.
Chen yesterday reaffirmed the government’s stance that the Republic of China (ROC) possesses sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands.
“Any denial that our nation holds sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands is tantamount to an act that humiliates the nation and forfeits its sovereignty. Neither the ROC government nor its people can accept that,” Chen said.
Chen said that the Diaoyutai Islands have “been the inherent territory of the ROC since 1683,” the year in which Taiwan was incorporated into the Qing Dynasty as a prefecture of Fujian Province.
Chen said that the ROC’s claim of sovereignty over the islands, solidly based on their location, geological composition, relevant historical evidence and international law, is “undisputed.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement reiterating that the Diaoyutai Islands are under the jurisdiction of Yilan County.
“Any remarks that deviate from the ROC’s stance have no effect on its assertion of sovereignty over the islands,” the ministry said.
Separately, KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that the party “regretted” Lee’s remarks, which they said were detrimental to the nation’s sovereignty.
Lin said that Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should make her stance on the issue clear.
“Taiwanese have the right to know whether she will denounce Lee’s position or if she shares the same view as him,” Lin said.
In the past, Lee has repeatedly said that the Diaoyutai Islands have always belonged to Okinawa and that they were not among territories, including Taiwan, ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
On earlier occasions, Lee said he has contended that the islands have been Japanese territories since he was president from 1988 to 2000, because he knows the history of Taiwan and Japan well.
In response to a question by reporters yesterday about the criticism of his comments, Lee said he viewed the issue “as history stands.”
Lee said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should study more and refrain from making comments on matters that he does not understand.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to