Premier Chen Chien-jen on Wednesday received a Japanese delegation comprised of members of overseas Taiwanese community associations from Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Shikoku and Hiroshima. The premier said all the visiting associations have long and exemplary histories, with each member giving back to their local communities when their enterprises are successful, and promoting Taiwan-Japan exchanges and cooperation through various avenues. The premier thanked the delegates for their longstanding and staunch support, care and assistance of Taiwan, as well as for promoting exchanges and friendly relations between the two nations.
Premier Chen said the reason that Taiwan can play a role on the world stage is because of the conscientious and passionate community of Taiwanese people who keep pace with modern developments while never losing sight of their Taiwanese roots. He hopes delegation members will put to use their abundant networks of contacts and channels to influence and win the support of mainstream society, so that the international community will recognize Taiwan's fair and reasonable requests to participate in international organizations.
Wei Hsi-chih, president of Kyoto's Overseas Chinese Association (Republic of China), said in his remarks that the Federation of Chinese Associations in Japan has always maintained an unswerving sense of affiliation and identification with the Republic of China (Taiwan), and this visit serves as a material demonstration of their support for Taiwan.
President Wei said that Taiwan and Japan are not just geographically close to one another, they are inextricably linked through history, culture, economy and tourism, while both nations also play a vital shared role in upholding peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. He expressed confidence that interactions between both nations will deepen into the future and said the federation will continue to use its considerable influence and broad-based personal networks to drum up support for Taiwan across Japanese society.