China has made serious demarches to Japan and strongly condemns that certain Japanese politician visited China's Taiwan region and made irresponsible remarks that sought to hype up cross-Straits tensions, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
According to reports, Taro Aso, vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party and former prime minister of Japan, has visited Taiwan, where he met with Tsai Ing-wen, William Lai and others and delivered a speech saying that there should be no war in the region, including the Taiwan Straits, and calling for a posture of strong deterrence and "a readiness to fight."
In response, a spokesperson for the ministry said such an act stokes antagonism and confrontation, as well as blatantly interferes in China's internal affairs, adding that it seriously violates the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and tramples on the basic norms governing international relations.
Noting that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affair that brooks no external interference, the spokesperson said the Japanese politician kept raising the possibility of "a war" while in Taiwan, which is an obvious attempt to stir up trouble in the Taiwan Straits and push the people in the Taiwan region over the edge of an abyss.
The spokesperson stressed that the complete reunification of the motherland is the common aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation and an unstoppable historical trend. No one shall underestimate the strong resolve, will and capability of the Chinese people to defend the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the spokesperson added.
"We seriously urge Japan to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, abide by the one-China principle and its commitments regarding the Taiwan question, and stop meddling in China's internal affairs and lending support to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces in any form," the spokesperson said.
"We also have a clear message for the Taiwan authorities: 'Taiwan independence' has no future; soliciting Japan's support and selling Taiwan away will only harm the people in Taiwan, and any attempt to collude with external forces in seeking independence and provocations will only fail," the spokesperson added.
The Chinese embassy in Japan also responded to the issue, saying the remarks made by Taro Aso are "nonsense," which interferes in China's internal affairs and undermines stability in the Taiwan Straits.
"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affairs," a spokesperson for the embassy said, adding that Japan will be once again led astray if some people in Japan insist on bundling China's internal affairs with its security.
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(Cover: The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. /CFP)