No invitation for queen’s funeral: ministry
https://pse.is/4ftzby
Taiwan would not receive an official invitation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funer
al on Monday next week due to a lack of official ties with the UK, the Ministr
y of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
However, the government has expressed its wish to mourn the death of the queen
on behalf of its people in other “appropriate ways,” Department of European
Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) said.
“We are still waiting for an official response from the UK side and will make
a public announcement once a final confirmation is made,” Chen said.
According to the British government’s guidance, only nations with which the U
K has diplomatic relations are invited to pay their respects at the state fune
ral that is to take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am on Monday.
People in Taiwan began paying their respects to the late monarch at the UK’s
representative office in Taipei yesterday by signing a condolence book prepare
d by the office after the queen’s death on Thursday.
A handful of people, including Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and Britons, waited out
side the British Office Taipei before the book was opened for members of the p
ublic to sign at about 1pm.
Michael Story, a British national and one of the first visitors to the office
to sign the book, told reporters that he wanted to thank the queen for her lif
elong service to his country.
Most people in the UK have had some sort of encounter with the queen, so her p
assing “feels more personal,” Story said.
He first saw the queen when he was 11 or 12, and last saw her at the Royal Win
dsor Horse Show in May when he returned to the UK to visit his family, he said
.
“When you are far away from your home country, something like this, a major n
ational event, tends to affect you perhaps even more than it might when you ar
e at home,” he said.
“All my friends in the UK are attending the [queen’s] funeral or some of the
arrangements. Here in Taipei I can come and sign the book,” he added.
A woman surnamed Pang (彭), a Hong Konger who has settled in Taiwan, told repo
rters that she and two other Hong Kongers signed the book to remember the quee
n for her contributions to the development of the territory.
“We wanted to write something to pay tribute to the queen’s contributions an
d devotion throughout her life,” Pang said.
Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪), a Taipei-based sales manager who was first in line to si
gn the book, said he wrote a message about his gratitude for the queen’s cont
ributions to Hong Kong’s prosperity and world peace.
The book can be signed by the public between 1pm and 4pm until Friday at the o
ffice on the 26th floor of President International Tower at No. 9-11 Song Gao
Road, the British Office Taipei said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is to visit the office to sign
the book this week, Chen said.
The royal family has an online book of condolence, available on the royal Web
site, www.royal.uk/send-message-condolence, for those who wish to pay their re
spects virtually, the office said.
簡單大意翻譯一下：台灣未被正式受邀出席下週一（英國時間：2022/9/19）舉行的女王
葬禮，理由是與英國未有正式外交關係。
關於這點我覺得不意外，英國是西方民主國家最早與我國斷交而承認中共的。但目前中文
媒體並沒報導，只報導「外交部盼以最適當方式哀悼」而已。
ps.話說中共派他們副主席王岐山代表出席女王葬禮，有部分下議院議員揚言反對並禁止
中國他們出席