A Japan-Taiwan friendship association from Japan's Chuo University donated 100 cherry trees to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei Wednesday to strengthen the friendship between the two countries.

Shigeru Osada, president of the Japanese civic group, presented the gifts at a ceremony, which was attended by former Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Director Tseng Kun-ti and Hsu Hsui-teh, chairman of the Asia Pacific Cultural Economic Academic Foundation.

The Japanese guests also planted the trees in the memorial hall's Zhongshan Park to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), a Chinese revolutionary who played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. As a result, Sun was dubbed the "Father of the Nation" in the Republic of China.

During the donation event, Osada spoke of Sun's close relations with his Japanese friends during his revolutionary years. With the cherry trees, Japan wants to display its "eternal friendship with the Republic of China," he said.

Expressing his gratitude, Tseng promised to tend the trees well and to turn the park that houses the plants into a lovely leisure environment.

(By Hsu Chih-wei and Elizabeth Hsu)
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