Taiwanese politicians including President Tsai Ing-wen (???) have offered their condolences to the family of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who died Friday evening after being shot twice during a campaign event in Nara, western Japan.
Tsai was “saddened” by the news of Abe’s passing, expressing “the deepest condolences on behalf of Taiwan’s government and people,” in a press statement issued by Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (???).
“The government of Taiwan strongly condemns violent and illegal acts,” Tsai said, adding that Abe was “an important friend of Taiwan” and “a great leader of the international community.”
Tsai went on to say that Abe’s dedication to Taiwan and his contributions to the promotion of bilateral ties with Japan would be forever remembered.
Meanwhile, in a separate press statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) lauded Abe for his repeatedly calling on the international community to safeguard Taiwan’s security.
In an op-ed published in April by the Los Angeles Times, Abe urged the United States to abandon its long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity and make it clear it would “defend Taiwan against any attempted Chinese invasion.”
MOFA said that Taiwan’s representative office in Japan had offered its condolences to the Japanese government on behalf of President Tsai, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (???) and Su Jia-chyuan (???), chairman of the government-funded Taiwan-Japan Relations Association.
Meanwhile, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (???) said in a recorded video that his party “expresses the deepest condolences to the family of Abe and friends in Japan.”
“Abe was the most important friend of Taiwan, having long supported the Republic of China and Taiwan,” Chu said, adding that he had also been in touch with Hiroyasu Izumi, Japan’s representative to Taiwan.
The KMT also said in a press statement that it “strongly condemns all irrational and illegal acts of violence that violate the basic principles of a democratic and rule-based society.”
Abe’s death at the age of 67 was confirmed by doctors at the Nara Medical University Hospital at 5:03 p.m., according to media reports.
He was reportedly shot in the back at around 11:30 a.m. by a 41-year-old male suspect with a homemade shotgun, while campaigning on the street in the city of Nara for the Diet’s upper house elections scheduled for July 10.
Current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a press conference Friday afternoon that the motivations of the suspect, who has since been arrested, remained unclear.
Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister at the time he stood down in September 2020, is survived by his wife.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel