The Legislative Yuan’s parliamentary friendship association for the East Asian region yesterday announced that it is officially inviting former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to visit Taiwan next year.
The group held a news conference and presented copies of a letter of invitation for Abe to give a speech at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Next year would be a momentous occasion for Japan, with the nation marking the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, as well as the proposed staging of the delayed Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, it said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The letter cited the strong friendship between Taiwan and Japan, and how the two countries have aided each other in times of need.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), head of the association, said he believed that next year would be the best time to invite Abe, as he would have had time to recuperate after stepping down as prime minister due to health reasons.
Abe had made it possible for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to visit and address the Japanese Diet on his views on democracy and other academic topics, DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said.
The Legislative Yuan, as a representative of Taiwan’s citizenry, is the best proxy in expressing its friendship to other countries, DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said.
Abe is seen as a political figure who has been most friendly toward Taiwan and the invitation could pave the way for even closer relations between the two nations, she said.
Taiwan and Japan enjoy very friendly non-government relations and a visit by Abe would boost bilateral relations, which is especially heartening as Taiwan is faced with an unfriendly neighbor, DPP Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) said.
Chang said he hoped that in the future, high-level government officials from Taiwan and Japan would be able to visit each other.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said the ministry would like to thank the association for its contributions to furthering Taiwan-Japan relations.
Abe had on multiple occasions expressed that Taiwan and Japan have shared values, and that Taiwan is a “cherished friend and partner,” she said.
Under Abe, the Japanese government was amenable to Taiwan joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and other international bodies, such as the WHO, she added.
The ministry will continue to deepen relations with Japan, while stepping up efforts to enhance ties with Abe and other Japanese officials, Ou said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
Intelligence agents have recorded 510,000 instances of “controversial information” being spread online by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so far this year, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report yesterday, as it warned of artificial intelligence (AI) being employed to generate destabilizing misinformation. The bureau submitted a written report to the Legislative Yuan in preparation for National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today. The CCP has been using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society by commenting on controversial issues such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investments in the
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
RSS