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2 An awkward visitor for Tokyo and
Beijing By Hisane Masaki
TOKYO - Former Taiwanese president Lee
Teng-hui, an arch-foe of the communist rulers in
mainland China, will keep both Japanese and
Chinese officials on their toes throughout his
current 11-day journey to Japan, which comes amid
a thaw in relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
Lee, 84, arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday,
his first visit to the Japanese capital in 22
years. Although he has said his trip is
mainly
for sightseeing and academic exchanges, Beijing
worries that it is politically motivated. Lee, who
served as Taiwanese president from 1988 to
2000, is viewed by Beijing as a leader of the
island's independence movement and has emerged as
a radical activist for the island's independence
since leaving office. He is the spiritual leader
of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union.
Japan switched its diplomatic recognition
from Taipei to Beijing in 1972, in deference to
Beijing's "one China" policy. In the absence of
diplomatic ties, Japan still imposes strict
restrictions on high-level official contacts with
Taiwan.
On Monday, two days before Lee's
arrival in Tokyo, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi expressed concerns about the trip to his
Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, when they met on
the sidelines of an international conference in
Germany. Yang said the trip has "political
implications" and may prevent progress in
Sino-Japanese relations. In an attempt to assuage
Chinese concerns, Aso replied that Tokyo's
understanding is that Lee won't engage in any
political activities while in Japan.
Despite this assurance, however, there are
concerns, even among Japanese government
officials, that the former president might make
provocative remarks against Beijing. Unlike during
his two previous visits, made after he stepped
down as president, Lee is to deliver speeches and
give a press conference before leaving Japan on
June 9.
Lee has said, "The speeches will
be on cultural and academic topics and will not be
political propaganda." But the international
situation is the theme of one of his planned
speeches.
Japan expects China simply to
harp on its basic Taiwan policy if Lee's visit
actually ends without deviating from the stated
objectives of sightseeing and academic exchanges.
Both countries want to keep the recent warming
trend of bilateral relations. But if Lee refers to
Taiwanese independence in his speeches or press
conference, Tokyo will almost certainly come under
fire from Beijing. On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu urged Japan not to
"give any political platform for the Taiwan
separatist movement".
In addition, it is
not clear what activities will constitute
political ones. Indeed, Lee is to have talks with
people from Japanese political and business
circles in Tokyo on June 7. Former prime minister
Junichiro Koizumi is reportedly among the
political figures Lee meets then.
Japan
lifted visa requirements for short-term Taiwanese
tourists in 2005. So this time Lee entered Japan
without a visa. Lee's two previous visits took him
to western and central Japan. This time he stepped
on Tokyo soil.
As the first major event on
his itinerary, Lee is scheduled to receive the
First Shimpei Goto Prize in a ceremony in Tokyo on
Friday. Goto served as the first head of civilian
affairs of Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule,
which began in 1895 and lasted until Japan's
defeat in World War II in 1945.
Lee then
plans to visit four northeastern prefectures,
Miyagi, Yamagata, Iwate and Akita, tracing the
route of the places written in the travel diary
Oku no Hosomichi ("The Narrow Road to Oku
[the Deep North]"), written by the master of
haiku (poetry), Basho Matsuo (1644-94),
during the Edo period (1603-1867).
After
returning to Tokyo, Lee is to deliver a speech on
June 7 about "the global situation in 2007 and
beyond".
Thaw in Sino-Japanese ties Because of warming ties, officials in Beijing
and Tokyo are watchful about what Lee will say and
do during his trip.
Sino-Japanese
relations sharply deteriorated under Abe's
predecessor, Koizumi, who upset Beijing by
repeatedly visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which
honors some convicted war criminals involved in
the invasion of China and much of Asia before and
during World War II, along with some 2.5 million
war dead. During the last few years of Koizumi's
five-and-a-half-year premiership, China shunned
top-level contacts with Koizumi, even during
international conferences in third countries, in
protest against what it viewed as his
glorification of Japan's militaristic past.
But bilateral relations began to warm up
when Shinzo Abe succeeded Koizumi last September
and made a fence-mending trip to Beijing soon
afterward. In Beijing, Abe met with top Chinese
leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier
Wen Jiabao. They agreed to "strive to build a
mutually beneficial relationship based on common
strategic interests", according to a joint press
statement issued then.
Lee's visit comes
about two months after Wen came to Tokyo in April,
becoming the first top-level Chinese leader to
step on Japanese soil in nearly seven years. Abe
and Wen agreed to boost cooperation in economic,
energy, environment and other areas to build
"strategic, mutually beneficial relations".
Abe conveyed his intention to visit China
some time this year, as requested by Wen. Abe also
extended an invitation for Hu to visit Japan early
next year. This year marks the 35th anniversary of
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