China on Tuesday accused Taiwan of "political manipulation" after its Vice President William Lai attended former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's funeral -- Taipei's highest-ranking official visit to Japan in decades.

Beijing views the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory, and countries that have diplomatic relations with China usually refrain from having official exchanges with Taiwan.

"After the former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo unexpectedly passed away, Taiwan authorities seized it as an opportunity for political manipulation," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a routine briefing.

"Taiwan is a part of China, there is no so-called Vice President."

The Chinese government had already made "representations" to Japanese officials at its embassy in Beijing as well as in Tokyo, Wang added.

Taiwanese officials remained tight-lipped about the visit, likely to avoid further antagonising Beijing.

But Taiwanese media reported that Lai made the trip on the orders of President Tsai Ing-wen, in what one ruling party lawmaker called a "diplomatic breakthrough".

While Japan does not formally recognise Taiwan, relations between the two have warmed in recent years, with Tokyo donating several batches of Covid vaccines to the island and becoming more outspoken about China's growing influence in the region.

Japanese officials have also sought to downplay the visit, with foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi saying Tuesday that Lai had attended the funeral "as a private individual".

"There has been no change to our country's basic policy to keep our relationship with Taiwan as a non-governmental, working relationship," Hayashi told reporters.

Abe was dubbed "the most Taiwan-friendly Japanese prime minister" by Taiwanese media and he continued to voice support for the island in the face of Chinese military and economic pressure after stepping down in 2020.

But he had a mixed legacy in China, where he was criticised for visits to Yasukuni, a shrine that venerates the souls of Japan's war dead -- including some convicted by a US tribunal of war crimes -- and his death triggered a wave of jubilation on social media.

Taiwan VP makes surprise trip to Japan to mourn Abe: media
Taipei (AFP) July 11, 2022 - Taiwanese Vice President William Lai visited Japan on Monday to pay tribute to assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Taiwanese media said, in a surprise trip bound to rattle China.

The state-funded Central News Agency quoted lawmaker Kuo Kuo-Wen of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party as saying that Lai cancelled other plans to make the trip on the orders of President Tsai Ing-wen.

The visit marks "a diplomatic breakthrough", the report quoted Kuo as saying.

It also makes Lai the highest-ranking government official to visit Japan since the country severed official ties with Taipei in 1972 to recognise Beijing, according to multiple Taiwanese media outlets.

The Taiwanese government has remained tight-lipped about the visit -- likely to raise hackles in Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said it had no further information about "Vice President Lai's personal itinerary" when asked to comment on the reports.

While Japan does not formally recognise Taiwan, relations between the two have warmed in recent years, with Tokyo donating several batches of Covid vaccines to the island and becoming more outspoken about China's growing influence in the region.

Abe was dubbed "the most Taiwan-friendly Japanese prime minister" by Taiwanese media, and he continued to voice support for the island in the face of Chinese military and economic pressure after stepping down.

Flags flew at half-mast in Taiwan's government buildings and schools on Monday, and a message wall outside Japan's de facto embassy in Taipei was filled with condolence notes.

"Taiwan's best friend forever," President Tsai wrote in her condolence note after paying her respects to Abe at a makeshift shrine.

"Thank you for your contribution to Taiwan-Japan friendship as well as world democracy, freedom, human rights and peace."

Ukrainian students seeking new lives in Taiwan see parallels in Russia, China
Taichung, Taiwan (AFP) July 11, 2022 - When Ukrainian student Anna Fursyk first moved into her Taiwanese university dormitory, the roar of passing military jets made her flinch, reminding her of the war she had fled.

She is among the eight young Ukrainians who recently arrived in central Taichung city to study on full scholarships, drawn by Taiwan's democracy and a sense of kinship born of living under the constant threat of invasion from a much bigger, increasingly aggressive neighbour.

The planes that spooked Fursyk were from a nearby air base, which is scrambling jets more frequently to counter the growing number of incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.

"I was scared at first because I thought there was a war starting. I was affected mentally by the war in Ukraine," the 20-year-old said.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, he gave form to the darkest fears of many Taiwanese -- that China will act on its pledge to annex the island, which it sees as a part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary.

A top Chinese official recently warned that Beijing would "not hesitate to start a war" if the island declares independence.

Roman Koval, 28, a former flight attendant from Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region, said he decided to relocate to Taiwan partly because of what he called the "similar threats" it shared with his home country.

He called on Taiwan to learn from Ukraine's experience and to "be always ready and be always prepared".

"All the time Ukrainians were thinking... the US will come to save us, Europe will come to save us. But it turned out that no one is going to come to save us," he said.

"We are the ones who are going to protect ourselves and we are the ones who are fighting."

- 'Freedom and democracy' -

There has been an outpouring of public support for Ukraine in Taiwan.

A public fundraising drive collected nearly US$33 million in just four weeks, with President Tsai Ing-wen and other top officials each donating a month's salary to the cause.

The students' scholarships at Tunghai University were made possible by a donation pledge of around US$1.38 million to the university.

Tsai has been keen to draw parallels between Taiwan's plight and Ukraine.

A picture she posted of Taiwanese orchids spray-painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag went viral across social media, along with the accompanying message: "I hope that freedom and democracy can continue to blossom in both our countries."

Fursyk, who fled from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, said she had chosen to move to Taiwan precisely because she wanted to live in a "democratic and free" environment while studying to become a Chinese teacher.

"The reason I didn't choose China to stay is because of communism, which would make my life less convenient," she told AFP in fluent Mandarin.

- 'Continue the fight' -

Her compatriot, 21-year-old Karyna Myshnova, said Ukraine needed attention and support from the world "to help us continue the fight".

"Just putting Ukrainian flags on your house, on your Instagram. Just showing you understand" would help, she said.

Alina Kuprii, 20, said she thought Taiwan had an advantage over Ukraine when it came to foreign intervention because of the former's semiconductor industry.

Taiwanese chip foundries churn out some of the world's most advanced chips, a component vital to the global tech industry.

"It would be really dangerous if China invaded Taiwan -- it would affect world trade for real, not like in Ukraine," she said.

"And I hope that China will not do that."

Kuprii, a Global MBA student, hopes she can eventually return home to start a career, using what she learns in Taiwan to promote business ties between the two.

But she said she is tormented by thoughts of her parents, who chose to stay in Ukraine because "they care too much about their home".

Kuprii's application to the university was processed as urgent because the city she is from -- Kryvyi Rig, the same as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky -- has been shelled more heavily recently.

"I miss Ukraine so much, I am so homesick," she said. "I think people should appreciate any moment of life. Be grateful for every day."

All the students remained hopeful that Ukraine would triumph in the end.

"I think it'll take some time but I know we will definitely win," said Fursyk.

"We are defending our land, our independence, our freedom, and our decision not to be a part of Russia -- as well as the principles of democracy."

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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