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Editorial: A private visit for a private citizen

Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) has applied for a Japanese visa so he can give a speech to a Japanese university student group. A private citizen applying for a visa is not news, but it is in Taiwan and Japan because of the possibility that a visa for Lee may infuriate China. Taiwan is pushing for one, but Beijing is going all out to ensure that he doesn't get it. The Japanese government is caught in the middle.

Lee's travel plans are sensitive because he is a former president and because he stands for Taiwan's independent sovereignty. He defined cross-strait relations as "special state-to-state" in nature and refused to accept Beijing's "one country, two sys-tems" formula. Beijing hates Lee with a passion. The fact that Lee's travels will bring the voice of the people of Taiwan to the international community irks Beijing no end.

Lee's last trip to Japan in April last year was made for medical reasons -- although he managed to get quite a bit of sightseeing in as well. Despite intense pressure from Beijing, then prime minister Yoshiro Mori agreed to approve Lee's visa application. Lee went to Japan as an ordinary citizen of Taiwan and got a chance to view the cherry blossoms.

Despite his low-profile approach, he was welcomed by the Japanese public, many of whose members see in him the archetypal Japanese spirit that they rarely come across in their own country. Lee's writings and biographies are hugely popular in Japan, where the public are curious about a man who has been Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese at different periods of his life and who appears to have integrated into his personality Japanese, Chinese and Western education. His political and economic achievements as a president also spark interest. The affinity shown by ordinary Japanese toward Lee has further deepened Beijing's hostility.

While Taiwan and Japan do not have diplomatic relations they certainly have very close trade, political and security ties. Interaction in the private sector also runs deep. Lee's visa application should be a simple matter.

As an ordinary citizen Lee poses no security threat to Japan and has a legitimate reason to visit. He abided by the terms Tokyo laid out for his previous visit and did not do anything to make the Japanese government unhappy. Japan is fully justified in issuing him a visa. The only stumbling block is Beijing's attitude.

But issuing a visa is about Japan's exercise of its own sovereignty. Should Tokyo worry about what Beijing thinks? After all, nothing really happened after Tokyo offended Beijing by giving Lee a visa last year. Would China really forgive Tokyo's earlier "lapse" if it were to reject a second visa application? Only by issuing Lee a visa for a short, private visit can Japan truly exercise its sovereignty and prove that it suffers no Sino-phobia.

Without harassment from the pro-China faction, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should be able to view Lee's matter for what it is -- a visa application from a private -- if not exactly ordinary -- citizen.
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