Taiwan has reduced a tourism warning for Japan in an attempt to soften the blow of last year’s disaster in Japan.
1999 was a terrible year for Taiwan in that it suffered a 7.3 magnitude earthquake and human loss was a major topic for the year. Japan aided Taiwan after the earthquake despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Japan must now be glad of doing Taiwan this favor as Taiwan has now reciprocated with a package equal to $224 million in the aftermath of the horrors in eastern Japan last year. The aid is not only represented by the financial package, yet also by a lift on warnings about radiation coming from Japan. After the Fukushima plant scare, the whole of Japan was officially deemed unsafe. Now, however, the warning applies only to a radius of 30 km around the stricken nuclear plant.
An interchange association has been mediating relations and aid packages between the two countries as there are no diplomatic relations between the two entities. In light of the aid package and the lift on the warnings about nuclear danger coming from Japan, Japanese representatives have released newspapers articles to thank their Taiwanese counterparts.
The events in Fukushima have led to further developments in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. Firstly, a minute silence was recently observed to respect the 19,000 victims of the earthquake and tsunami last year. Secondly, protests against the usage of nuclear power have taken place and are likely to continue in a statement of sympathy and anger connected with the Fukushima affair.
Whether the protests will have any effect or not waits to be seen but the relations between Taiwan and Japan have certainly been strengthened in the wake of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.