Kaohsiung lawmakers push for support for Japan in China dispute

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers from Kaohsiung on Friday urged Taiwanese to support Japan by buying Japanese goods and traveling there amid China's angry reaction to comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi related to Taiwan.

The appeal came as China takes economic reprisals, such as blocking imports of Japanese seafood and advising people not to visit Japan, to protest Takaichi's comment that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan's survival.

At a press event at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, DPP Legislators Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑), Huang Jie (黃捷), Li Po-yi (李柏毅), and Lin Chu-yin (林楚茵) sampled Japanese apples, persimmons, and mandarins to encourage Taiwanese to buy more Japanese agricultural products.

Chiu said Taiwan, as Japan's closest ally, should help Japan navigate the current challenges.

She urged Taiwanese to use their recent NT$10,000 (US$320) cash handout for trips to Japan and called on Taiwanese airlines to offer NT$1,000 travel discounts.

She also suggested that Taiwan's Tourism Administration work with Japanese authorities on more travel packages, and encouraged the Kaohsiung City government and civic groups to consider offering travel subsidies.

Lin said now was an ideal time to deepen Taiwan-Japan economic and industrial cooperation, adding that Taiwan should diversify its partnerships to reduce reliance on "high-risk countries" that use economic pressure as a political weapon.

Citing Japanese government sources, NHK reported Wednesday that China had informed Tokyo it was halting imports of Japanese marine products to "assess the monitoring of treated and diluted water" from Japan's damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The move came after Takaichi said on Nov. 7 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could qualify as "a situation threatening Japan's survival," potentially triggering a military response.