The 50th anniversary celebration reception of Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association was held yesterday. Japanese representative to Taiwan Izumi Yutai (middle), Executive Yuan Vice President Shen Rongjin (right), and TECO Chairman Huang Maoxiong (left) toasted at the meeting.

(Photo by reporter Liao Zhenhui)

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, hoping to pass on the friendship torch from generation to generation

[Reporter Lu Yixuan/Taipei Report] The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association was established for 50 years, and held a celebration reception in Taipei last night.

Yutai Izumi, representative of Japan in Taiwan, said that the accumulated trust and friendship between Japan and Taiwan are enough to boast of the stability of the world; the relationship between Japan and Taiwan is like a "cold lips", an irreplaceable partner, and a relationship that can talk about the future together in the next century .

He earnestly hopes that Japan and Taiwan will deepen exchanges in the future and pass on the torch of friendship from generation to generation.

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my country and Japan broke off diplomatic relations in 1972. Japan established the "Exchange Association Foundation" in December of the same year, and then changed its name to "Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association" in 2017. The two parties continue to communicate through this platform. Maintaining non-governmental relations such as bilateral economic and trade, cultural exchanges, and technical cooperation, this year marks the 50th anniversary.

The Japan-Taiwan Association held a celebration reception yesterday. Quan Yutai and his wife welcomed the guests into the venue. Vice President of the Executive Yuan Shen Rongjin, former Legislative President Wang Jinping, former President of the Taiwan Association for Japanese Relations Qiu Yiren, Secretary General of the Presidential Office David Li and many political and business people attended , Su Jiaquan, the president of the Taiwan Association for Japan Relations, went abroad, and Huang Maoxiong, the president of TECO Group, spoke on his behalf. Mitsuo Ohashi and Keiji Furuya, the president of the Japan-Taiwan Transportation Association, also paid tribute through the video.

At the venue, the national flags of the Republic of China and Japan were erected on both sides of the stage, and more than 100 people celebrated the exchange together.

Democratic Taiwan World Appreciation

Quan Yutai said that it is not an exaggeration to say that Japan-Taiwan relations started from the bottom in 1972. In the past fifty years, the international situation between Japan and Taiwan has undergone tremendous changes.

Since the 1990s, Taiwan has gradually and steadily separated from authoritarianism and established today's democratic Taiwan, which has been appreciated by the world.

On the other hand, the world has continued to be in a state of tension from the end of the Cold War to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Ukrainian-Russian war this year, North Korea’s missile launch, and China’s expanded military threat to Taiwan.

Quan Yutai shared that when he arrived in Taiwan in 2019, the international community did not feel the importance of Taiwan as it does now, but in the past three years, "the global understanding of Taiwan has completely changed."

He has seen the rapid increase in the importance of Taiwan in the international community, and he has also seen that the Taiwanese people are becoming more and more confident in being Taiwanese.

Quan Yutai believes that even if Taiwan is under China's military and economic pressure, in order to maintain the status quo, strengthening Taiwan's self-identity and further promoting its international status is more important than anything else.

Quan Yutai also pointed out that the current Japan-Taiwan relationship is in the best state. In the turbulent international society, the Japan-Taiwan relationship, which shares universal values ​​such as democracy and freedom, human rights and the rule of law, is more important than in the past.

The trust and friendship accumulated over the past fifty years are enough to boast of the stability of the whole world. As the saying goes, if one party is missing, the other party cannot exist, and it is an irreplaceable partner.