Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday called on Taiwanese to increase travel to Japan and buy more of its products to help the country amid a wave of reprisals from China after it expressed support for Taiwan.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly deployed economic and military coercion to bully countries, Lin said during a legislative session, referencing China’s retaliation against Japan for remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
On Nov. 7, Takaichi, in her first parliamentary address since taking office last month, said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, which could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
China said that the “blatantly provocative remarks on Taiwan” have “further damaged the atmosphere for people-to-people exchanges ... creating additional risks to the safety and security of Chinese citizens in Japan.”
China has since imposed a slew of measures aimed at Japan’s economy, including advisories against travel and study in Japan.
Taiwan has also been a victim of such coercion, as Beijing frequently weaponizes trade, investment and tourism to threaten Taipei, Lin said.
“That is uncivilized and undemocratic behavior,” he said. “Taiwan will support Japan at this critical time to effectively stabilize the situation and stop the CCP’s bullying.”
Asked how exactly Taiwan can help Japan, he said Taiwanese should to step up travel to Japan and buy more Japanese products to demonstrate Taiwan’s friendly relationship with Japan.
An NHK report on Wednesday cited Japanese government sources as saying that China has taken steps to suspend imports of marine products from Japan and has already informed Tokyo.
China said that the decision was taken to assess the monitoring of treated and diluted water from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, the report said.
However, the sources said that the decision is part of China’s response to Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan, NHK reported.
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday also showed his support for Japan with a lunch of Japanese-sourced sushi.
Lai, in pictures posted on social media, posed with yellowtail from Kagoshima and scallops from Hokkaido.
Taiwan has in the past few years been subjected to similar food export bans by China, including pineapples and fish.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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