Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies) Despite threats and warnings from Beijing, the ex-Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui will go to Japan from 12 to 17 September. Officially, the visit is a tourist trip that will serve to expand cultural relations. Tokyo's green light for Lee's visit is sure to worry China as it watches ties between Tokyo and Taipei grow closer.
These ties are above all economic. According to information offered by the president Chen Shuibian, in 2005, the volume of trade between Japan and Taiwan reached a value of 60 billion US dollars, with Japan enjoying a surplus of 30 billion US dollars. Personnel exchanges between the "rebel" island and the Japanese nation add up to 2.4 million visitors. Last year alone, at least one million Japanese visited Taiwan.
To facilitate exchanges, Japan has scrapped visa requirements for Taiwanese.
Collaboration between Tokyo and Taipei is also unfolding on the security front. Last year, Japan made security in the Taiwan Strait one of the key points of a strategic alliance with the United States.
Japan would also like to back Taiwan's bids to candidate for UN membership, attempts consistently blocked by Beijing.
Many observers believe Tokyo's moves are an expression of its concern about China's gigantic growth from economic and military perspectives.
President Chen Shuibian yesterday met some Japanese MPs who are visiting Taiwan and he thanked Japan for the welcome it will give to Lee, saying this signaled "an upgrading of substantial relations between our two countries".
