The head of the island\u2019s economic office attended commemorations in Japan for the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.<\/b>
\nAt this year\u2019s commemorations in Japan for the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was a major departure from the past.
Seated among the attendees in both cities was Lee Yi-yang, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the island\u2019s de facto embassy in the country.
At the Nagasaki event on Saturday, Lee sat with representatives from international non-government organisations, \u201cinappropriate seating arrangements\u201d that he attributed to pressure from Beijing, according to Taiwanese media reports.
Nevertheless, a Taiwanese official has never attended these events before and, after the ceremony in Hiroshima on Wednesday, Lee said the island hoped to have a presence there every year.
Lee\u2019s appearance is part of a bigger effort by Taiwan to strengthen its unofficial bonds with Tokyo and raise the island\u2019s international profile. Observers said Beijing would take a dim view of the participation, but both it and Tokyo would be careful to not undermine improving relations.
Lee\u2019s attendance at the Hiroshima and Nagasaki events came two weeks after Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung made a rare visit to Japan.<\/p>\n