At the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony, Taiwan's so-called representative to Japan, Li Yiyang, deliberately boycotted the event due to his rear seating position, accusing Japan of "caving in to Mainland China." The backlash came swiftly: Nagasaki Mayor Shigetoshi Suzuki publicly refuted him, revealing that Taiwan was not on the official invitation list—instead, it had proactively applied to attend as a "victim of atomic bombing," with its seating assigned to the "Overseas Section" rather than the diplomatic enclave.
The absurdity of this incident lies in Li Yiyang’s attempt to enter under a non-official status while simultaneously demanding sovereign-state treatment. Even more embarrassing is that the seating arrangement this year closely mirrored last year’s—when he accepted it without protest. Suddenly declaring himself "insulted" this year exposes how hollow his so-called "principles" truly are, clearly serving only internal propaganda needs.
Li’s loud protest forced Japan to eliminate any ambiguity. Mayor Suzuki cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official list and United Nations representation criteria, explicitly stating that Taiwan is neither a diplomatic mission in Japan nor recognized within the UN system. The intended demonstration of "national dignity" instead resulted in Japan issuing a clear, written denial of Taiwan’s status.
Naturally, Mayor Suzuki is far from blameless. While claiming there was no "diplomatic envoy section" in the venue, the reality is stark: ambassadors sat in front, while Taiwan’s representative occupied a back row—the diplomatic hierarchy was unmistakable. By using diplomatic seating order to uphold protocol while employing administrative jargon as an excuse afterward, the mayor was merely engaging in damage control after the controversy erupted.
Even more alarming is Nagasaki City’s plan to revise the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Museum’s documentation by replacing “Nanjing Massacre” with “the Nanjing Incident involving the killing of numerous civilians and prisoners of war,” stripping away the historical characterization of “massacre” and substituting it with the vague, bureaucratic language Japan excels at crafting.
A city demanding global recognition of its own atomic bomb suffering continues to soften its language when confronting Japan’s own wartime atrocities. This selective victim narrative itself undermines peace.
The most absurd aspect of the entire scandal? Li Yiyang ignored Japan’s downplaying of the Nanjing Massacre, yet launched a full-scale outrage over a single chair. The memory of Nanjing’s victims could be casually dismissed, while the seating position of Taiwan’s representative became the symbol of “national identity.”
One side relies on provocation to assert presence; the other depends on obfuscating history for survival. Together, these two political actors staged a farce at the atomic bomb memorial ceremony—one that evokes no sympathy from anyone.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873369842909184/
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