Fri, Aug 26, 2022 page3

• Japan delegation urges border opening

  FOR EXPERTS, STUDENTS: People should be allowed to see free and open Taiwan for themselves, especially as many are concerned for the nation’s safety, a lawmaker said

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  Taiwan should quickly reopen its borders for East Asian political experts and Chinese-language students so that they can see the free and open country for themselves, a delegation from the University of Tokyo’s cross-strait relations research group told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at a meeting at the Presidential Office yesterday.

  Some members of the delegation comprising Japanese and Taiwanese researchers had to obtain visas in advance, as Taiwan has not reinstated a visa-waiver program for Japanese that was suspended early in the COVID-19 pandemic, said politics professor Yasuhiro Matsuda, who led the delegation.

  Like Japan, Taiwan is grappling with how to ease a quarantine requirement for inbound travelers, Matsuda said.

  

  University of Tokyo professor Yasuhiro Matsuda, left, bumps fists with Vice President William Lai at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office via CNA

  He had to wait for 18 months to obtain his visa, he added.

  “People around the world increasingly want to study Mandarin in Taiwan. Moreover, experts who are concerned about the developments in East Asian countries are eager to visit Taiwan and see for themselves the situation here. They can investigate, study and exchange views with Taiwanese experts,” he said.

  “A free and open society is Taiwan’s greatest advantage. More of Taiwan’s fortes can be developed as it moves toward a more open society,” he said. “If Taiwan reopens its borders, more people can see the country’s outstanding achievements in various disciplines.”

  The world is rediscovering the value of Taiwan, but many are concerned about its safety, as democracy worldwide is under threat, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s large military exercises around Taiwan, Matsuda said.

  “However, anxiety alone cannot solve any problem. The important thing is that Taiwan, Japan, the US and other allies negotiate over the goals they are seeking to achieve,” he said.

  Sending messages to China is also important, he said, adding that they must be based on “a strong will and [the] capabilities of Taiwan’s government and people to defend the country.”

  “A lack of capabilities would not help highlight Taiwan’s security interests when it engages in cooperation with other countries or communicates with China,” he said.

  Matsuda said that the relationship between Taiwan and Japan is a virtuous circle: Japan last year donated Astra-Zeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, while Taiwan lifted an import ban on food products from five Japanese prefectures affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

  Taiwan is also seeking Japan’s support for its efforts to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he added.

  “It is unfortunate and a great pity that former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe passed away in July... [Abe] was competent in implementing policies and a core figure of this virtuous circle. We must not let the circle stop with his passing,” he said.

  Matsuda also praised Taiwan for implementing a “zero tolerance” policy early in the COVD-19 pandemic, which gave the nation enough time before vaccines became available and it could work on gradually increasing its vaccination rate.

  Taiwan is one of the rare examples in the world that proves that economic development and disease prevention can coexist through collective awareness of containing the coronavirus, and a flexible and effective enforcement of disease prevention policies, he said.

  Tsai thanked Japan for highlighting the importance of stability across the Taiwan Strait on multiple important occasions.

  “As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will neither provoke conflict nor escalate tensions with China,” Tsai told the delegation.

  The president said the friendship and cooperation between Taiwan and Japan can deepen through exchanges of all levels, citing her meeting on Tuesday with Japanese Representative Keiji Furuya, chair of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council.

  The delegation also met with Vice President William Lai (賴清德), and was scheduled to meet with National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) during its four-day visit to Taiwan.
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