Taiwan envoy to Japan protests Nagasaki memorial designation, skips event

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's representative to Japan, Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), said Sunday that he decided not to attend an annual atomic bombing memorial ceremony in the Japanese city of Nagasaki earlier in the day to protest the labeling of his delegation as an "international nongovernmental organization."

At the ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the city government placed Taiwan's delegation, originally set to be headed by Lee, in the International NGO section rather than the section for foreign embassies and representative offices.

The arrangement was the same as last year, when Taiwan was first invited to attend the annual memorial ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on the Japanese city.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Lee said the delegation decided to attend the Nagasaki memorial last year because Taiwan wanted to make its first appearance at the ceremony and demonstrate to the world that it is peace-loving.

Afterward, his office immediately issued a statement protesting the decision to classify Taiwan's delegation as an international NGO, Lee wrote.

Over the past year, many Japanese Diet members had called on the Nagasaki City government to change its designation of Taiwan at the annual ceremony. The Fukuoka branch of Taiwan's representative office also continued to push for a change with the help of local civic groups and lawmakers, but to no avail.

Lee said it was regrettable that the Nagasaki City government continued to inappropriately label Taiwan's delegation this year.

In response, Lee and his two deputies decided not to attend Sunday's ceremony and instead sent Bruce Chen (陳銘俊), head of the office's Fukuoka branch, to represent Taiwan.

In his post, Lee reiterated Taipei's position that the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's formal name, is a sovereign state, not subordinate to the People's Republic of China (PRC), and that the PRC has never governed Taiwan.

With such an inappropriate designation, the Nagasaki City government has become a tool for the PRC's ongoing global campaign to portray Taiwan as part of China, Lee said.

Taiwan's government has lodged a stern protest and condemned the Nagasaki City government for giving in to Chinese pressure, downgrading Taiwan's sovereign status and humiliating Taiwan's dignity, he added.

Lee's absence from the Nagasaki memorial came three days after he and his delegation attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on Thursday, marking the 81st anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing.

At the Hiroshima memorial, Taiwan's delegation was seated in the diplomatic corps section alongside representatives from Paraguay, the Holy See, Israel, India and Armenia.

The Nagasaki City government had not made a public statement in response to Lee's comments as of press time.

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

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

Six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on Aug. 15, bringing World War II to an end.