Taipei denies 'secret meeting' between representative and Abe

[NewWorldRecord]

Taipei denies 'secret meeting' between representative and Abe
Staff Reporter 2013-10-13 16:59

Tung Chao-chin during an interview with our sister paper China Times to discuss his meeting with Abe, Oct. 12. (Photo/Huang Ching-ching)

Anna Kao, the spokeswoman for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there was no "secret meeting" between Shen Ssu-Tsun, the nation's top representative to Japan and Japan's prime minister in Tokyo on Oct. 11, according to our sister newspaper Want Daily.

The Tokyo-based Japan News Network reported that Abe had become the first Japanese prime minister to receive a senior official from Taipei since the normalization of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo in 1972. According to the network, Abe met with Shen Ssu-Tsun in the evening of Oct. 11.

Both the Japanese and Taiwanese government denied that such a meeting was held, however the Chinese media ran with the news, launching a series of attacks against Abe for holding the meeting. The Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao claimed that it was a move by Japan's prime minister to provoke a reaction from China.

Tokyo declared that Abe had met with a Taiwanese national on Oct. 11 but that the man in question was a good friend of the prime minister. On the same day, Tung Chao-chin, chairman of Chinatrust Venture Capital Corp, came forward and said that he was the Taiwanese friend who met with Abe on Oct. 11. Tung said that Abe spoke about his willingness to cooperate economically with Taiwan, but added that they did not discuss any political matters.