China protests Japanese official’s trip to Taiwan

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Monday lodged a strong protest with Japan after its ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) policy chief paid a trip to Taiwan over the weekend.

“In disregard of China’s solemn stance, senior officials of Japan’s ruling party insisted on visiting Taiwan,” said a statement by the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

Koichi Hagiuda, the policy chief of the ruling LDP, during his trip met Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and also addressed the Taiwan-Japan relations forum in Taipei where he backed the self-ruled island nation’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

After receiving the visiting Japanese official, Tsai said on Twitter that it was the first time in 19 years that the chairman of the LDP’s Policy Research Council had visited Taiwan, home to around 24 million people who live across Taiwan Strait, south of mainland China.

“We had in-depth discussions on Taiwan-Japan relations and the regional situation, and it was a truly meaningful exchange of opinions,” Tsai said.

The LDP's current vice president, Taro Aso, also visited Taiwan in 2003.

However, the Chinese Embassy strongly opposed Hagiuda’s trip and his meetings with Tsai, saying: “Relevant actions have seriously violated the one-China principle and the four political documents between China and Japan, and violated Japan’s commitment on the Taiwan issue. China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this.”

“The Taiwan issue concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and is at the core of China’s core interests.

“How to deal with this issue will test Japan's ability to maintain the political foundation of China-Japan relations and the basic faith of bilateral exchanges,” said the embassy.

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway province” while Taipei has maintained independence since 1949, with full diplomatic relations with 14 nations.

“This time, the Japanese politicians colluded with the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces to send out wrong signals, once again letting the world see clearly who is the troublemaker who undermines the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.

“As history has proved many times, any attempt to escalate tension for personal gain will only end up shooting itself in the foot,” the Chinese statement said, urging Tokyo to “seriously reflect on the historical lessons it has learned on the Taiwan issue, immediately stop any form of official exchanges with the Taiwan region, abandon the political manipulation of using Taiwan to control China, and take concrete actions to demonstrate its commitment to keeping its promises.”

Hagiuda told the forum on Sunday he “personally supported” Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP, which represents around 13.5% of global trade.

Taiwan applied to join the bloc of 500 million people last year in September but it requires all 11 CPTPP signatories – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam – to approve the application.

China had applied a few days ahead of Taipei’s bid to join the regional bloc.