Former Taiwan president tells Japan that Taiwan is ‘indispensable’

Taiwan’s security crucial to Japan: Lee

HONORED GUEST: The former president, who was presented with an award for his contribution to democracy, urged Japanese leaders to consider Taiwan indispensable

AGENCIES, JAPAN
Saturday, Jun 02, 2007, Page 3 Taiwan’s security in its standoff with China is crucial to Japan, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday in Japan.

“Japan and Taiwan are mutual partners. If anything happens to Taiwan, Japan will quickly feel the consequences,” he told reporters in Tokyo.

Lee, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday on a cultural visit, said the standoff between Taiwan and China had serious implications for Japan.

“The Taiwan Strait problem also greatly affects Japan,” Lee said.

“I urge politicians to … keep up Taiwan-Japan relations with the understanding that Taiwan is indispensable for Japan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Beijing accused the 84-year-old former president of using his 11-day visit to push for Taiwanese independence and trying to undermine China-Japan relations.

At the same time, China warned Japan that Lee’s trip could damage relations between their nations. Japan maintains official diplomatic relations with Beijing, but not with Taiwan. China regularly opposes visits by Taiwanese former and current officials to countries with which it has diplomatic ties.

Earlier this week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed that Lee’s visit was private and that he did not expect it to hurt Tokyo’s relations with Beijing.

Lee was yesterday awarded the first Goto Shimpei Prize by a Japanese publisher for his contribution to Taiwan’s urbanization and democratization.

The event was organized by Fijiwara Shoten’s Goto Shimpei Organization to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the late Japanese colonial administrator Goto Shimpei. The prize is awarded to people who have contributed to national or regional development.

Delivering a speech titled “Goto Shimpei and I” during the ceremony, Lee said that Goto made a great contribution to Taiwan’s modernization during his service as the chief of civil administration under the Japanese colonial government in Taiwan between 1898 and 1906.

Lee said that although his life hardly overlapped with that of Goto, he has been profoundly influenced by Goto’s achievements in Taiwan and his extraordinary philosophy of life.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that Taiwan’s development has moved forward along the track paved by Goto,” Lee said, adding that his Japanese education had allowed him to become mayor of Taipei City, governor of the then Taiwan Province, vice president and even president.

Lee said what he prides himself in most is his success in the transformation of Taiwan’s political system from a military dictatorship into a democracy without a single drop of blood being shed in his 12 years as president.

There are two kinds of politicians, he added: those who engage in the pursuit of power and those who aim to serve the people.

He said that politicians who were not subject to the temptation of power did not become corrupt.

Just like Goto, Lee said, he exercised self-restraint and was always ready to relinquish power during his presidency.

Saying that faith was one of the most important qualities of a leader, Lee added that love and justice are what he believes in as a Christian.

Lee further said that although he and Goto may be different in terms of their religious beliefs, having strong faith is what they have in common and what connects them spiritually.

This is Lee’s third trip to Japan since his presidency ended in May 2000.

Lee Tenghui continues on his journey in his false homeland imploring Japan to protect its “good colony” from the PRC to the point of deluding himself by overstating Taiwan Province’s importance to Japan. He is also under the false impression that the Japan SDF will actually intervene when China liberates the wayward province despite the fact Japan’s SDF is restricted to national defence and the fact that Taiwan has not been a Japanese colony for over 50 years (much to Lee’s dismay).

Someone should take the initiative and tell Lee that Taiwan is no longer Japan’s model colony and that Taiwan is completely on their own as a rogue province. Lee needs to learn that the good days he remembered as a sellout with the likes of Kin Birei and other slaves are long gone and only in their colonised minds.

It’s really no surprise that Lee would get the Goto Shimpei Prize seeing as he is still a loyal Japanese colonial slave and everything he has done in his life is only for Japan. Everything he credits is somehow related to his days as a colonial citizen, as an IJA war veteran and as a sellout to Taiwan Province and Chinese people as a whole. I would not be surprised if the “Goto Shimpei Prize” was originally designed with sellouts like Lee Tenghui, Kin Birei, Ko Bunyu and all proud colonial slaves from Taiwan Province in mind

The only redeeming remark that Lee made was his jab at Chen Shuibian, who was caught stealing taxpayer money as head of Taiwan Province. At least Lee Tenghui was able to get away with corruption and people only learned of his corruption long after he was out of office and no longer the head of the KMT. Chen on the other hand, could not properly launder money even with his family’s help so he deserves to be caught by the authorities.

I am so glad there are no Korean chinilpa who would do such stupid things in their lifetimes. Then again, most of the chinilpa already immigrated to Japan where they are continuously mistreated as zainichi Koreans until they completely sellout to the Japanese system.