| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
that guy
Joined: 29 Feb 2004
Location: long gone
|
 Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject: 2MB - Apology for Offer to Sell Dokdo |
 |
|
| Michael Breen wrote: |
Apology for Offer to Sell Dokdo
In a televised address yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak apologized to the nation for having offered to sell the disputed Dokdo islets to Japan without prior public debate.
The offer, made over the weekend, took Korea and Japan by surprise and drew a furious response from the two residents of Dokdo who promptly declared independence from both countries.
``I apologize for confusing the couple," Lee said. He did not say whether the offer had been withdrawn. It was the president's second address to the nation since taking office. Earlier this month, he apologized for hasty decision-making and poor communication over the decision to resume imports of U.S. beef.
In a bid to calm public reaction, an official close to the talks explained to reporters that the idea of selling Dokdo had been raised for discussion in good faith to unblock secret talks with Tokyo over the sale of one of Korea's provinces.
He declined to name the province but said the sale was intended to increase national revenue while at the same time reducing the overall population. ``That's the quickest way to increase per capita income and keep our promise to achieve advanced nation statistics," the official explained. President Lee was elected on a campaign promise to double Korea's per capita income to $40,000.
The official, who said that the American embassy was helping to guide the talks with leaders from Japan's Shimane Prefecture, said they two sides fell silent for several minutes due to a disagreement over price. The silence was broken when President Lee, who is known for his can-do spirit as the ``Bulldozer," stood up and dramatically pointed at a spot in the East Sea. He just said, ``We'll give you 'Takeshima.' It was like MacArthur announcing the Incheon landing," the official said.
``I didn't have much time because I had a tennis match, so I suggested Dokdo to speed things up," said a very senior official, who said it really wouldn't be helpful for him personally at this sensitive time if he were to be identified as the president of Korea. ``I wanted to tell someone, but I knew my aides would oppose it."
Insiders say the decision caused a furor within the Blue House where chief of staff Yoo Woo-ik is rumored to have ordered all presidential secretaries below his level to cut off their little fingers in a bid to get the President to change his decision-making style.
``TV stations are calling the spokesman's office asking if they should build a weekly apology spot into their programming," said one presidential secretary. ``It's very embarrassing."
The TV mea culpa came too late for tens of thousands of middle school students already on their way to the East Sea last night for candlelit vigils along the coast. They said they wanted to see the East Sea before it turned into the Sea of Japan. Many said they had received text messages saying that the president of Dokdo would visit several beaches giving out free Dokdo passports.
Police lined the beaches after reports that history teachers had been urging students to swim to Dokdo and occupy it in the name of the Dokdo People's Liberation Front. But the vigils went off peacefully with students cleaning the beaches before they left.
In Seoul, meanwhile, thousands of angry nationalists joined in with anti-FTA (free trade agreement) farmers and recently converted vegetarians for the second night running to call for President Lee's impeachment on the grounds of not paying attention to public sentiment. Through the night, police battled groups of men with their little fingers missing who commandeered garbage trucks and started filling in the Cheonggye Stream, which Lee had restored when he was mayor of Seoul.
In other reaction, Japanese officials welcomed Lee's initiative. Supporters in Osaka, where Lee was born, gathered in the streets and held banners, which were not legible because they were in Japanese, a language, which this newspaper refuses to recognize.
Asked by a Korean reporter on the campaign trail for his view, Sen. Barack Obama said the sale of provinces was acceptable because America had bought New York and Alaska. He added that he did not oppose the sale of Dokdo provided that Japanese islets could also enter the Korean market.
Asked for his reaction, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at Bangkok airport en route for Burma, smiled and said he was unfamiliar with the issue.
|
So which province is up for sale?
Link |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| nsiders say the decision caused a furor within the Blue House where chief of staff Yoo Woo-ik is rumored to have ordered all presidential secretaries below his level to cut off their little fingers in a bid to get the President to change his decision-making style. |
Now, that is an "advanced" way of lobbying.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
aarontendo
Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Location: Daegu-ish
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The one I'm in. Looks like I won't have to move to work in Japan after all! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It's hard to believe but I hope N. Korea would buy S. Korea. Of course, the U.S. will assist the financing for N. Korea.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
GoldMember
Joined: 24 Oct 2006
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 4:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'd buy Dokdo!
I've got a spare $50 in my wallet, always wanted to add a big rock to my property portfolio.
My rare collection of Bolivian seagulls need a new home. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
sirfro
Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Location: Guui-dong...lol
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:09 pm Post subject: Re: 2MB - Apology for Offer to Sell Dokdo |
|
|
| that guy wrote: |
| Michael Breen wrote: |
| The offer, made over the weekend, took Korea and Japan by surprise and drew a furious response from the two residents of Dokdo who promptly declared independence from both countries. |
|
That's a good one. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TexasPete
Joined: 24 May 2006
Location: Koreatown
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| nevermind |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
justaguy
Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Location: seoul
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
He's the President.....
He can say whatever he wants. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Chicoloco
Joined: 18 Oct 2006
Location: In the ring.
|
| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Through the night, police battled groups of men with their little fingers missing who commandeered garbage trucks and started filling in the Cheonggye Stream, which Lee had restored when he was mayor of Seoul. |
That god for Michael Breen |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
