Taiwan's designation as NGO at Nagasaki memorial 'inappropriate': Envoy

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's representative to Japan, Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), said Saturday that seating his delegation in the "international nongovernmental organizations" section at a Nagasaki memorial was "inappropriate."

After the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Japan issued a news statement, quoting Lee as expressing displeasure with the Nagasaki city government's seating arrangement.

"Taiwan is by no means an international NGO; it is a sovereign country active on the international stage," he added.

On behalf of Taiwan's government, Lee joined representatives from some 95 countries and regions at the commemoration for the first time, after calls from Taipei and Japanese politicians to make such participation possible.

Until this year, Taiwan had been left off the guest list for the annual event in Hiroshima and Nagasaki due to a lack of formal diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Japan, according to a Taiwanese official familiar with the matter.

Lee appeared to have been aware of the seating arrangement before Saturday's event, but he said his decision to attend despite the designation was meant to "demonstrate Taiwan's top priority of pursuing peace" to the world, according to the release.

At the same time, the representative blamed Beijing for the situation.

"We understand that the inappropriate arrangement by the host, Nagasaki City, has its reasons," Lee said, accusing Beijing of being "the force pulling the strings behind the scenes."

China, which had taken part in the annual memorial for years, did not attend Saturday's event, and the Nagasaki city government declined to provide a reason.

The ceremony, held at Nagasaki Peace Park, commemorated the victims of the atomic bombing by the United States on Aug. 9, 1945, which killed an estimated 74,000 people.

It was the second atomic bomb that American troops dropped on Japanese soil to stop the Japanese imperial army's continued aggression in Asia, following the strike in Hiroshima three days earlier, which claimed roughly 140,000 lives.

Most of the casualties were civilians.

The bombings remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict, leading to Japan's capitulation to the Allies on Aug. 15 that same year and the end of World War II.

Lee and other Taiwanese delegates also attended a memorial held in Hiroshima earlier this week.

According to the diplomatic source, the representative sat near U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass during that ceremony.