Taiwan welcomed yesterday Japan's decision to issue a visa to former president Lee Teng-hui (
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda announced in a press conference that Tokyo agreed to allow Lee to travel to Japan as a private citizen after he promised not to engage in any political activities during his stay.
Tokyo notified Beijing of its decision on Wednesday, Hosoda said. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later told reporters that Japan had no reason to reject Lee's visa application but stressed Japan wanted to continue developing its relationship with China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (
"We demand that the Japanese side revoke such a decision immediately. Otherwise it will of, course, have a negative impact on relations between China and Japan," Liu said, adding the visit was "by no means personal or one of nostalgia."
"I think his activities in Japan constitute a provocation against the reunification of China and we are strongly opposed to all kinds or forms of connivance with such activities," Liu said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei welcomed Japan's decision. Gary Lin (
The Japan Interchange Association (JIA) in Taipei said yesterday Lee has not filed his visa application yet.
"He might take the trip at the end of this year," an official at the association said.
Japanese media reported Lee might travel to the Kansai area, famous for its hot springs.
The Central News Agency quoted a close friend of Lee as saying that Lee has not decided whether to take the trip at the end of the year because his wife Tseng Wen-hui (
Lee once said he wished to bring Taiwan's Aboriginal children to Japan to perform singing and dancing when campaigning for the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) legislative candidates, according to the agency.
"It has been former president Lee's hope to visit Japan and the US, particularly Japan," said TSU Secretary General Lin Jih-jia (
Lee's visit to Japan would be his first since he received treatment for a heart condition at a Japanese hospital in 2001. At that time, Tokyo said it had granted Lee entry to Japan in 2001 on "humanitarian grounds."
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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