Taiwan attends Hiroshima peace ceremony for the first time

Hiroshima, Aug. 6 (CNA) Taiwan on Wednesday attended Hiroshima's annual peace memorial ceremony for the first time, with its top envoy to Japan joining representatives from 120 countries to mark the 80th anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on the city.

Lee I-yang (李逸洋) was among the special guests invited by Hiroshima to the ceremony held Wednesday morning to remember the victims and honor the remaining survivors of the first use of a nuclear weapon in history on Aug. 6, 1945.

The ceremony held at the city's Peace Memorial Park was attended by around 55,000 people in all, including Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, according to the Hiroshima government.

Before the official memorial began, Lee was spotted shaking hands and briefly talking to U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass.

A day before Wednesday's memorial, Lee and his wife also laid a wreath at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, in tribute to the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing.

Lee told CNA after attending the ceremony that his presence was "extremely meaningful" because it was the first time Taiwan had been invited to join the annual event, which began in 1947.

"The most important lesson for Taiwan's participation in the ceremony, together with representatives worldwide, is that people should all remember and reflect on the history and lessons of the Hiroshima bombing," he said.

He thanked the city of Hiroshima for inviting him, saying it illustrated that Taiwan stands together with the international community.

Until this year, Taiwan had been left off the guest list for the annual event because the People's Republic of China, which has official ties with Japan, sees Taiwan as part of its territory instead of an independent country.

As this year marked the 80th anniversary of the bombing, however, the city decided there was no reason to exclude Taiwan, given the city's wish to convey the "spirit of Hiroshima," which stands for the coexistence and prosperity of humankind, Japanese media reported earlier this year.

In 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, respectively, to stop the Japanese imperial army's continuing aggression in Asia.

The two bombings killed hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom were civilians, and they 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.

In Taipei, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed gratitude for the Japanese side's arrangements that allowed Lee to attend Wednesday's memorial.

Meanwhile, MOFA said in a statement that Lee will also attend an upcoming memorial ceremony in Nagasaki to be held on Aug. 9, after the Japanese city retracted its previous decision to not invite Taiwan to the event.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki had said on May 16 that Taiwan would again not be invited to this year's event because invitations are only extended to countries with diplomatic relations with Japan.

Japan does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China.

Facing criticism, however, Suzuki later made an about-face and said last month that his government was now accepting Taiwan's attendance at the Aug. 9 event.