China-Japan ties are improving. Could a Taiwanese official test that trend?
The head of the island’s economic office attended commemorations in Japan for the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Seated among the attendees in both cities was Lee Yi-yang, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the island’s de facto embassy in the country.
Nevertheless, a Taiwanese official has never attended these events before and, after the ceremony in Hiroshima on Wednesday, Lee said the island hoped to have a presence there every year.
Beijing later cautioned Japan and dismissed the Taiwanese official’s attendance at the events, saying the attempts by the island’s ruling Democratic People’s Party to create a “illusion of so-called international presence” would only make it “a laughing stock”.
“We urge Japan to fully recognise the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue ... honour its commitments on the Taiwan issue and handle it prudently,” Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said.