On September 18, I took an afternoon flight from Tokyo to Taipei to attend the “2015 International Symposium on Cross Taiwan Strait Relations and Asia Pacific Peace and Security” sponsored by the Taiwan National Security Institute. Arriving at the NTUH International Convention Center a little past 8 a.m. the following morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Taiwanese officials tell me one after another: “Congratulations on the passage of your new security legislation!”

　　　　　Many of them told me that they had watched live coverage of the Japanese Diet proceedings until past midnight the previous night. I felt that the people of Taiwan, who are faced with—and are compelled to daily feel the pressure of—the Chinese threat regarded the outcome of the Japanese deliberations over the controversial legislation as hardly someone else’s business.

　　　　　Reactions were quite similar in Southeast Asian nations as well, including the Philippines and Vietnam, where the new Japanese security legislation was well received. The happy expressions I saw on the faces of the Taiwanese officials I spoke with left me a strong impression. Simultaneously, however, I could not but seriously wonder if those in Japan who turn a blind eye to the Chinese threat and talk about “war legislation” and “the inevitability of conscription” are sadly failing to understand the deep concerns about China among Japan’s Asian neighbors.

　　　　　How Taiwan and other Asian nations cope with China will directly affect the destiny of their respective state and its people. Taiwan in particular, who has been made to constantly recognize itself as China’s primary target for expansion, is fully mindful that its present status as an independent state has been safeguarded by the presence of the US and Japan. It is painfully aware that the US, above all else, holds the key to its survival.

　　　　　Presumably for this reason, Ms. Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party, was very cautious as she delivered the opening address. There is a high possibility that she will be elected Taiwan’s first female head of state next year, replacing President Ma Ying-jeou, who heads the incumbent Nationalist Party. Perhaps for this very reason, both the US and China watch nervously over every word she utters, which in turn makes her all the more cautious.

　　　　　Still looking the part of the scholar that for many years she was, Ms. Tsai in her address chose to discuss domestic issues exclusively without daring to touch on security or diplomatic issues. She most likely would have enraged China if she had shown the slightest aspirations for Taiwan’s independence, and without doubt would have also irritated the US, which wants no trouble between Taipei and Beijing. To secure America’s unwavering backing, Tsai couldn’t possibly have revealed any sign of inclination towards independence. Her extreme prudence reflected the harsh realities of Taiwan which has to be mindful of the Chinese threat and American wishes at the same time.

Japan’s Most Compatible Neighbor

　　　　　In late June, China announced what it claimed was the end of its reclamation operations involving seven reefs in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Although Beijing gave the world the impression that it had suspended all of its reclamation work at that time, this in fact was not true. On September 15, the Center for Strategic and International Studies released on its website “Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative” new images showing China continuing to reclaim land around a number of reefs in the Spratlys.

　　　　　Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, acknowledged this fact, asserting Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratly Islands and that it was simply taking “legitimate and perfectly justifiable steps.”

　　　　　The more hegemony China assumes in the South China Sea, the more threatened will Taiwan’s future be. Now is the time for us Japanese to recognize that the importance of Taiwan to Japan far supersedes strategic matters. We must realize that the people of Taiwan are probably more compatible with us than with any other people in the world. This is an important fact that we need to be aware of and appreciate.

　　　　　The day after the symposium, I took Taiwan’s “bullet train” to Taichung, a city of 2.7 million people 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Taipei. The buildings of the city can be seen in the distance as one approaches the city across a wide expanse of green rice paddies. Not far from the terminal, I saw the scenic old Taichung Train Station built by the Japanese during Japan’s 50-year colonial rule of Taiwan (1895-1945). Meticulously taken care of and still being used by the Taiwanese, the building with its lovely red bricks and white walls was set off markedly against the blue sky.

　　　　　Guided by Mr. Xu Shi-jie, former chief Taiwanese representative in Japan, his wife Ms. Lu Qian-hui (noted writer of children’s stories), and Mr. Huang Mu-shou, I visited the Bao Jue Chan Si Zen Temple in this bustling city. To the left of the main hall situated in the middle of the compound, I saw a stone pagoda about two meters (seven feet) tall with a semispherical upper half bearing an inscription which read “Columbarium for Ashes of Japanese.” I was told that this facility contains the ashes of some 33,000 Japanese soldiers, sailors, and civilians who died in Taiwan during the Greater East Asian War.

　　　　　In the inner part of the compound a little beyond the columbarium stood another tall and splendid monument, with its inscription by former President Li Deng-hui reading: “Home for Peaceful Rest.” Behind this was another monument named “Ahui Yuang Jing” honoring the more than 200,000 Taiwanese who fought the war as Japanese soldiers and civilian military employees.

　　　　　Until the late 1980s the Japanese government had failed to grapple squarely with matters relating to recovery of the remains of those killed in Taiwan during the war and payment of compensation to their families. The inscription on the pedestal of the monument states that in 1987 “a bill concerning a payment of compensation to the families of the war dead who were Taiwanese citizens” was legislated finally in the Japanese Diet by an “informal conference of Diet members gathered to discuss matters pertaining to the war dead in Taiwan.”

　　　　　When Japanese families finally visited Taiwan to collect the remains of the war dead and conduct memorial services for the lost ones, they were told what they had least expected to hear—that the people of Taiwan had by then collected virtually all of the remains of the Japanese and Taiwanese war dead, and interred their ashes in three sites—one in Taipei, another in Taichung, and a third in Tainan—regularly holding formal memorial services for them.

Taiwan As Newly Born Nation

　　　　　The Bao Jue Chan Si Temple is where the remains are interred in Taichung. There I put my hands together to offer a prayer before the monument enshrining the Japanese and Taiwanese citizens killed during the war, sincerely comforting their spirits and thanking them for the precious sacrifices they made.

　　　　　Where else in the world outside Taiwan can one find a nation or a people who would collect the remains of the war dead, erect monuments for them, and continue holding memorial services without differentiating between the Japanese and the Taiwanese?

　　　　　Here and there across Taiwan, one sees the evidence of close ties formed between our two countries over the decades. In point of fact, Letters from Formosa by Ms. Lu Qian-hui (published in Chinese and Japanese by Yushan Publishing Co., Taipei; 2012), introduces a host of stories that illustrate the close ties that have been formed between the Japanese and Taiwanese people. If Taiwan can manage to escape being a part of China, that will truly be in the best national interests of both Taiwan and Japan.

　　　　　Xu emphasizes that the only way for Taiwan to avoid being annexed by China and secure its status as an independent nation is to peacefully seek to become a full-fledged member of the United Nations. To accomplish this goal, Xu advocates the argument that Taiwan is after all a “newly born nation,” far from being part of China at any juncture of history.

　　　　　In the first place, Xu contends Taiwan must maintain that it is not an offspring of Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China; it must also make clear that the People’s Republic of China has never once ruled over Taiwan and that Taiwan was not born out of a partition of the PRC. In applying for UN membership, Xu stresses that the UN Charter does not recognize the right to a veto of any country that is a party to a dispute (in this case, China); in other words, China will not be able exercise the right of veto over Taiwan’s application for membership.

　　　　　In endeavoring to create a favorable environment for acceptance as a UN member, Xu emphasizes that Taiwan will need to appeal to international public opinion, building a solid case for its petition. This, he feels, may require somewhere in the range of ten years.

　　　　　I am aware of a move among some Diet members to propose a Japanese version of the Taiwan Relations Act (legislation enacted in 1979 to allow the US to come to the defense of Taiwan in certain circumstances). The Japanese legislation would be aimed primarily at strengthening economic relations and personal exchange between Japan and Taiwan. Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Koichi Hagyuda reportedly aims to get it enacted a year from now. I am greatly encouraged by this move, as a manifestation of Japan’s strong will to support Taiwan not only will meet the national interests of both Japan and Taiwan but also give hope to all the nations in the Asia-Pacific region favoring democracy and the rule of law.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 763 in the October 1, 2015 issue of The Weekly Shincho)