Premier Su receives Japan parliamentary delegation

2022/08/24

Premier Su Tseng-chang received a delegation from Japan’s House of Representatives Aug. 22 at the Executive Yuan, pledging to continue advancing mutually beneficial ties between the two like-minded partners.
 
Arriving earlier in the day, the group comprises Keiji Furuya, chair of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, and fellow lawmaker Minoru Kihara.
 
The council plays a key role in enhancing the Taiwan-Japan relationship, Su said. This is evidenced by its tireless efforts to facilitate the Japanese government’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan and to promote homegrown pineapples when the produce was banned by China, he added.
 
The 2022 basic guidelines passed by the council in March, which stressed the importance of cross-strait peace and stability while reiterating support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and international organizations such as the World Health Organization, are also deeply appreciated by the government and people, Su said.
 
Speaking on the Taiwan Strait issue, Su said China’s escalating threat to Taiwan, with regular incursions of warplanes and warships, not only undermines regional peace but also impacts Japan’s imports and exports of commodities and energy. He went on to thank Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other high-ranking officials like Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi for joining Taiwan in condemning Beijing’s recent military provocations.
 
In addition, Taiwan has eased border controls, raising the weekly cap of 40,000 arrivals from abroad to 50,000 starting Aug. 22, Su said, adding that the adjustment is expected to boost the two sides’ economy and tourism while fostering people-to-people exchanges.
 
Su also took the opportunity to express gratitude for Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His support and hard work helped establish a deep and abiding Taiwan-Japan friendship, he said.
 
In response, Furuya said Japan strongly opposes China’s attempts to unilaterally change the regional status quo and quoted Abe in saying that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-U.S. alliance.”
 
No countries sharing the fundamental values of freedom, democracy and respect for the rule of law can allow Taiwan to be invaded by foreign powers, Furuya said. He further pledged to lead the council in taking the Taiwan-Japan relationship to a higher level.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)