Madrid November 15 (Europe Press) –
This Saturday, the Chinese government issued a warning to its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan for “security” reasons, after an alleged increase in attacks against Chinese nationals on Japanese territory and controversial comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan further strained bilateral relations.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese embassies and consulates general in Japan solemnly warn Chinese nationals to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future,” said a brief statement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Affairs Bureau and reported by the Global Times.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted this recommendation, first of all, in response to security incidents against Chinese nationals over the past year that have resulted in a “deterioration of security” in the country.
“Some incidents remain unresolved, and the security of Chinese nationals in Japan continues to deteriorate,” the Chinese government laments, citing “openly provocative statements” recently made by “Japanese leaders” regarding Taiwan as another convincing argument for this warning.
The letter goes on to say that such comments “severely undermine the environment for exchanges between Chinese and Japanese citizens and pose a serious risk to the personal safety and lives of Chinese residents in Japan,” and suggests that Chinese authorities “take strict precautionary measures and strengthen self-defense.”
The warning comes after Chinese authorities had already asked Mr. Takaichi this Thursday to retract comments they deemed “scandalous” made by Japanese authorities about Taiwan. Taiwan is a territory that the Chinese government considers a separate province under its sovereignty.
Recent comments by the Japanese prime minister have further heightened tensions between the parties, especially after Takaichi himself said a week ago that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Japan, a comment that was harshly criticized by the Chinese government.
For this reason, the Chinese government on Friday even hinted to Japan that it would suffer a “big defeat” if it decided to intervene in the dispute over Taiwan, and expressed regret that Gaoichi’s “erroneous” statements about Taiwan “represent serious interference in China’s internal affairs and violation of the ‘one China’ principle.”
Relations between China and Taiwan were severed in 1949 after Kuomintang forces were defeated in a civil war with the Communist Party and moved to Taiwan. Relations were re-established only at a business and informal level in the 1980s.
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