Taiwan regrets over no invitation to Nagasaki atomic bomb memorial

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Taiwan's foreign ministry on Tuesday expressed regret over Nagasaki's decision not to invite Taiwan to join an upcoming memorial to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the lack of an invite was "regrettable," when asked about the decision during a weekly news briefing.

"Despite this, as a peace-loving and responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded partners to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region," he said.

Unlike Nagasaki, Hiroshima, which normally would not invite Taiwan for its own Aug. 6 peace memorial ceremony, has decided to notify Taiwan about this year's event, according to an Asahi Shimbun report on May 16, quoting unnamed sources.

In response, Hsiao on Tuesday said that although Taiwan had not officially received the invitation to the Hiroshima event, it was looking forward to attending it.

"Now the case has been dealt with by Taiwan's representative office in Osaka with the Hiroshima City government," he said, adding that MOFA will decide whom to send to the Aug. 6 event once it receives the invitation.

Until last year, Taiwan was not on the guest list for Hiroshima's annual memorial event due to the fact that the People's Republic of China, which has official ties with Japan, sees Taiwan as part of its territory instead of an independent country.

However, as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing, the city has since decided there is no reason to exclude Taiwan this year, given the purpose of conveying the "spirit of Hiroshima," which is a wish for the coexistence and prosperity of humankind, sources told the Japanese media.

Meanwhile, Shiro Suzuki, the mayor of Nagasaki, said on May 16 that Taiwan will again not be invited to this year's event marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Aug. 9, as the invitation only extends to countries with diplomatic relations with Japan, as it has done before.

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, respectively.

The two bombings killed hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

Six days later, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on Aug. 15, ending World War II.