Associated Press
Japan says Taiwan ties under ‘1 country, 2 systems’ policy
Japan’s relations with Taiwan are non-governmental and practical, based on the “one country, two systems” policy that recognizes China as the sole legitimate government, a top Japanese official said Friday, following Beijing’s protest over a recent reference to the island as a country. As China flexes its muscle in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region, the issue of Taiwan is a sensitive topic, especially as Japan, the United States and other democracies develop closer ties with the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade territory to be united by force if necessary. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news conference Friday that “Japan’s position is to maintain relations with Taiwan as practical and non-governmental,” in line with the 1972 Japan-China Communique, when Tokyo switched the diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.