Japan urged to respect one-China principle

The Chinese Embassy in Japan said on Monday that it strongly opposed Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi's congratulatory message to the Taiwan region's new leader Lai Ching-te and more than 30 Japanese lawmakers attending Lai's inauguration ceremony.

A spokesperson for the embassy said that the move by the Japanese side seriously interferes in China's internal affairs, and violates the one-China principle, the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and the commitment made by Japan on the Taiwan question.

China has expressed firm protests and made solemn representations with Japan, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson also said that there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.

Noting the importance that the Taiwan question bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations and the basic trust between the two countries, the spokesperson said China firmly opposes all "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and interference by external forces, including Japan, and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China solemnly urged the Japanese side to immediately stop provoking and engaging in political manipulation on the Taiwan question, stop any risky attempt to support the "Taiwan independence" forces, and avoid causing further damage to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and China-Japan relations, the spokesperson added.

On the same day, the Chinese Embassy in Japan held a symposium in Tokyo, inviting politicians and experts to discuss the Taiwan question and China-Japan relations.

Wu Jianghao, Chinese ambassador to Japan, said at the symposium that the root cause of current tensions in the Taiwan Straits is the collusion between Taiwan authorities and external forces to pursue "independence" and the attempts by these forces to use the Taiwan question to contain the Chinese mainland.

Wu said some people in Japan have sensationalized the notion that "a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency," distorting the Chinese mainland's Taiwan policy and even advocating for Japan to fight for Taiwan.

China urges Japan to honor its commitments, adhere to the one-China principle, and cease provocative actions regarding China's Taiwan region, Wu added.

Echoing Wu, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stressed the necessity of the Japanese government to understand the one-China principle, saying that if the Japanese government and the public acted with this understanding, the so-called Taiwan contingency would never occur. "At the very least, Japan would not provoke such a situation."

Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, said the so-called Taiwan contingency has been artificially created.