President Chen Shui-bian (
Presidential Office Secretary General Chiou I-jen (
Chen hosted a banquet for Mori at the Presidential Office at 7pm. Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) said Chen's friendship with Mori began when Chen visited Japan as the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate in July 1999.
Mori was invited to Taiwan by national policy adviser Fan Jen-hui (
Mori checked in at Taipei's Grand Formosa Regent Hotel at around 2pm and left the hotel with Fan roughly 30 minutes later. A number of Japanese officials and members of a Japanese rugby association were in Mori's entourage.
Mori was in Beijing from Dec. 14 to Dec. 16, according to the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun, which quoted Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi (
The report said Wang also noted the Japanese government should deal with the Taiwan issue carefully.
Mori was reportedly scheduled to meet with former president Lee Teng-hui (
Prime minister in 2000 and 2001, Mori braved domestic and foreign pressure to issue a Japanese visa for Lee to receive medical treatment in Japan in April 2001.
Keeping a distance from trailing reporters who asked Mori whether he will be meeting with Lee, Mori replied, "I don't know" in Japanese and declined to answer further questions.
The government laid on unusual security for the former Japanese prime minister, deploying police cars and motorcycles to escort his entourage.
Mori, campaigning for Japan's bid for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, visited Taiwan's rugby association yesterday afternoon to solicit its support for the bid. An association official said Mori's visit greatly encouraged them.
Mori's last trip to Taiwan was in March 1996, when he just completed his term as international trade and industry minister. During the trip, Mori witnessed Taiwan's presidential election and China's missile tests in the Taiwan Strait.
Mori said before he arrived this time that his visit carried no political significance and that he would not be speaking with Taiwanese politicians.
A source at the Presidential Office said Chen's dinner with Mori showed that top-ranking officials in the two countries have built up a close personal relationship -- an important element of politics in Japan.
The source, noting that Mori is a supporter of current Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, predicted a diplomatic breakthrough with Japan in the near future.
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