Lee I-yang Walks Out in Protest! Nagasaki City 'Downgrades Taiwan's Status' – Former National Security Official Questions: Why Not Protest to Japan's Foreign Ministry?

Nagasaki City held its annual Atomic Bomb Peace Memorial Ceremony today (9th), but the Nagasaki municipal government placed Taiwan's delegation outside the designated diplomatic corps seating area, an act perceived as downgrading Taiwan's national status. In protest, Taiwan's Representative to Japan, Lee I-yang, along with two ministers, decided to boycott the event. Instead, Chen Ming-chun, Director of the Fukuoka Branch Office, attended at a lower rank to express formal condemnation and protest.

Lee I-yang stated that Nagasaki's city government has a pro-China stance. Last year, Taiwan attended the peace ceremony for the first time to affirm its commitment to peace, enduring the disrespectful treatment at the time. However, Taiwan immediately issued a protest statement after the event. Despite ongoing efforts by influential pro-Taiwan Japanese lawmakers and Taiwan's representative office over the past year, Nagasaki's government has failed to rectify its treatment of Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan decided to downgrade its participation this year.

Lee bluntly stated that Nagasaki's seating arrangement deliberately denies Taiwan's statehood, disregarding Taiwan's sovereignty and dignity—an unprecedented experience for Taiwan when participating in central or local events in Japan. He further criticized that Nagasaki's government, unaware of its erroneous decision, has effectively become a tool for China's legal warfare strategy asserting that 'Taiwan is not a country, has no sovereignty, and is part of China.'

In response, former Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council, Yang Yung-ming, questioned on the program 'News Straight Talk': If Lee claims Nagasaki deliberately denies Taiwan's statehood and disrespects its sovereignty, why did he not protest to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Yang explained that, based on his understanding, Japan sometimes places Taiwan's representatives outside the diplomatic corps area as part of its approach to Sino-Japanese and Taiwan-Japan relations. He admitted he does not know the exact circumstances or where Taiwan's delegation was seated. However, he noted that Nagasaki's current mayor, Shiro Suzuki, has been consistently criticizing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi since her appointment, suggesting possible political motivations behind the seating decision.