Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung Makes Rare Visit to Japan; China Lodges Protest
With Japan and Taiwan not having official diplomatic relations, it is extremely unusual that the foreign minister's visit to Japan would be made public, and China quickly responded with an objection.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Liu Jinsong, director general of its Department of Asian Affairs, had lodged a protest regarding Lin's visit with Akira Yokochi, chief minister of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.
Taiwan's foreign ministry claimed that Lin's visit to Japan is being done in a private capacity.
According to the Taiwan news agency, Lin first paid a call on the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, which is Taiwan's contact point with Japan.
In a posting on Facebook, lawmaker Keiji Furuya said that he met with Lin, along with Sanae Takaichi, a former minister for economic security, among others.
Furuya is a Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives who is chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, a suprapartisan league of lawmakers for friendly ties with Taiwan.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu criticized Japan's handling of Lin's visit. Liu told Yokochi that the Japanese government 'tolerated the visit under the guise of a so-called 'private person,' and provided a stage for anti-China political activities aimed at dividing China.'
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing said that Yokochi provided an explanation of the Japanese government's stance regarding Taiwan.
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