Taiwan Envoy Skips 81st Nagasaki Memorial Over NGO Label
Updated
Updated · Focus Taiwan · Aug 10
Taiwan Envoy Skips 81st Nagasaki Memorial Over NGO Label
3 articles · Updated · Focus Taiwan · Aug 10
Summary
Lee Yi-yang and his two deputies skipped Sunday’s Nagasaki atomic bombing memorial after the city again placed Taiwan’s delegation in an “international NGO” section instead of with foreign missions.
Bruce Chen, head of Taiwan’s Fukuoka office, attended in their place as Taipei lodged a stern protest, saying the designation downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty and reflected Chinese pressure.
Lee said Taiwan had protested the same arrangement after its first invitation last year, and that lobbying over the past year by Japanese lawmakers, civic groups and Taiwan’s office failed to win a change.
Three days earlier, Taiwan attended Hiroshima’s 81st memorial from the diplomatic corps section, underscoring the contrast with Nagasaki as Taiwan presses its claim that the ROC is a sovereign state.