20100521 Foreign ministry to clear up Taiwan status to Japan

20100521 Foreign ministry to clear up Taiwan status to Japan

Foreign ministry to clear up Taiwan status to Japan

By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, May 21, 2010, Page 3

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday that the ministry would instruct its office in Japan to declare the government’s position on the status of the country to the Japanese government following a recent statement by a Japanese government official.

Lin made the remarks when asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) to comment on a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), during a session of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.

The report quoted Japanese State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa as saying that Japan did not recognize Taiwan as part of China, when taking questions from Hirosato Nakatsugawa, a representative of the Democratic Party, on Wednesday in the Diet.

Takemasa said that when it signed the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, Japan renounced all rights to Taiwan and the Japanese government was in no position to determine Taiwan’s de jure status, the paper said. The paper said that Nakatsugawa brought up the issue since Taiwan is classified as part of China in Japanese senior school history textbooks.

“[What Takemasa] said is a very serious problem. The ministry has to clearly express the government’s position to the Japanese government,” Chang said.

Chang said that Taiwan’s status was decided by the Treaty of Taipei, signed in Taipei in 1952, which stipulates that nationals of the Republic of China shall be deemed to include all the inhabitants of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

In response to Chang, Lin said that what Takemasa had said was the official position of the Japanese government.

“But for us, it’s very clear that Taiwan’s sovereignty was determined by the Treaty Taipei,” he said.

Saying that he agreed with Chang that it was an important issue, Lin added that the ministry would express the government’s position clearly to the Japanese government.