Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taipei and Tokyo ties are built on friendships

Peter Chow 周鉅原

Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday traveled to Tokyo to offer his condolences after the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Although Lai’s visit was regarded as a part of his “personal itinerary,” it marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough for Taipei, and it conjures memories of past interactions between Taiwanese and Japanese leaders.

An agricultural economics professor at Meiji Gakuin University — whom I have known for many years — was a classmate of late former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at Cornell University. They kept in touch after graduation, with the professor once visiting Lee in Taiwan.

MOFA thanks Palau for solid support

Taipei Times

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, shares a lighter moment with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva yesterday.
Photo: AFP

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr for voicing his nation’s support for maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan, despite pressure from China.

“If you want to have relations with Palau, you’re welcome, but you cannot tell us that we cannot have relations with Taiwan,” Whipps told Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum after saying that his nation has been “under a lot of pressure” from Beijing.

Polls show TPP a one-man party

Huang Wei-ping 黃惟冰

A media organization recently published the results of an opinion poll regarding the candidates who are to run for Yilan County commissioner in the local elections on Nov. 26, with only 2 percent of respondents saying that they would vote for the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) candidate. Even among respondents who identified with the TPP, only 2 percent said that they would cast their ballot for the party’s candidate.

In comparison, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who is seeking re-election, garnered the support of 71 percent of respondents who identified with the TPP.

Lai visits Japan to pay respects to Abe

Taipei Times

A Japanese TV news image shows Vice President William Lai, second left, accompanied by Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh, left, in Tokyo yesterday.
Photo: screen grab from Twitter

Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday became the most senior Taiwanese official to visit Japan in five decades when he traveled to Tokyo to offer condolences after the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Tokyo broke official ties with Taipei in 1972 and established relations with Beijing.

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