TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Friends of Abe Association (台灣安倍晉三之友會) was formed by more than 100 Taiwanese and Japanese politicians at the Grand Hotel on Tuesday (Oct. 11) with former minister of foreign affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) as first chairman.

The association said that the civic group was formed to continue former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s unfulfilled wishes, to deepen the relationship between Taiwan and Japan, and to promote security across the Taiwan Strait and regional peace. The association added that it will exert influence by offering advice with regard to these missions.

Abe was shot twice while he was giving a speech on a street in the city of Nara on July 8 and later died in the hospital.

United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder and former chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) said in an address at the association’s founding ceremony that Abe is our hero because he dared to stand up to China and once said, "If something happens to Taiwan, then something happens to Japan.” Tsao added that Taiwan and Japan share common values and ideals, such as democracy, human rights, and freedom.

Taiwan is an independent country, Tsao said, adding that it has been independent and has never been a territory of the Chinese Communist Party for a single day.

In his speech, Chen said that Abe's contribution to Taiwan-Japan relations is obvious to all. When there was a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Taiwan, he successfully persuaded the Japanese government to donate more than four million doses to Taiwan, Chen added.

Chen said that the association planned to provide 10 scholarships each year with a maximum of one million yen (about NT$220,000) per person for one year, to encourage more young Japanese people to come to Taiwan to study and experience local culture.