Japanese lawmakers have been refraining from visiting China for fear of being arrested and not being able to return, while Taiwan is a popular destination, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun reported.
As 120 Japanese Diet members visited Taiwan last year and fewer than 10 went to China, Beijing hopes that they could visit China more often, Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi was cited as saying during a meeting of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday last week.
Kanasugi was in Japan to attend the Conference of the Ambassadors to Asian and Oceanian Countries and International Organizations, which was held on Thursday and Friday last week.
Photo courtesy of the Legislative Yuan
“Even if asked to pay a visit, I might be arrested and not be able to go home,” one of the legislators attending the meeting said.
Chinese authorities in March last year detained an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc on a charge of contravening China’s anti-espionage law.
Japan’s efforts through official channels to have the man released have been in vain.
Former Japanese Diet member Shiori Kanno, who has long been concerned about human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, was accused by the Hong Kong Department of Justice of being a “conspirator” with pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英) for establishing the Japan Parliamentary Alliance on China.
The two did not know each other and had no interactions.
Japanese Diet member Arfiya Eri, who is of Uighur descent, on Tuesday last week said that Kanno could risk her safety if she went to China, or a country with which Beijing has an extradition treaty.
A survey conducted by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper last year showed that 74 percent of Japanese said they “dislike” China, a sentiment expressed by more than 70 percent of Japanese for six consecutive years, the paper reported last month.
On the other hand, 76.6 percent of Japanese said they felt “close” or “somewhat close” to Taiwan, a survey conducted last year by Tokyo-based Central Research Services showed.
Of the respondents, 65 percent said that Taiwan is “very trustworthy” or “trustworthy,” citing the two sides’ shared values.
Additional reporting by Liu Tzu-hsuan
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