Posted on 05/23/2005 7:56:35 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
China's Wu Yi cancels meeting with Japan PM Koizumi
Mon May 23, 2005 08:30 AM ET
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi cancelled a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday and flew back to China a day earlier than scheduled, saying she had domestic business to attend to.
Koizumi said he did not know why Wu was returning to China, and officials in Beijing had no immediate comment on the cancellation of the meeting, which had been seen as another opportunity to improve frayed Sino-Japanese relations.
"It would have been a good opportunity since the meeting was proposed by them," Koizumi told reporters.
"I would meet them anytime if they want to meet," he said. "If they don't want to meet, there is no need to."
Wu did not refer to the sudden cancellation of the meeting, a rarity in diplomacy, when she spoke at a conference earlier.
Later, she was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying: "I have some domestic business."
Japanese officials said the cancellation did not appear to be related to Koizumi's visits to a Tokyo shrine for war dead that is seen by Beijing as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
"The Chinese side made it very specific that it has nothing to do with Yasukuni," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Akira Chiba said.
Sino-Japanese ties have been troubled by a series of feuds including anger in China at Koizumi's annual pilgrimage to Yasukuni, where convicted war criminals are honoured along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.
Anti-Japan protests erupted in China last month, triggered by Tokyo's approval of school textbooks that critics say whitewash its 1931-45 invasion and partial occupation of China and by its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
A senior official of Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party played down the significance of the cancellation but also said that some Japanese may regard it as a discourtesy.
"If it is due to urgent business it can't be helped, but many people in Japan may feel it is rude," Shinzo Abe was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
In a speech on Monday morning, Wu emphasised the need for Japan and China to improve relations and use history as a mirror.
"Currently the relationship between the two countries is not satisfactory or benign," she said through an interpreter.
"The maintenance of such a situation will not serve the interests of the two countries. We must change the trend as quickly as possible," Wu said.
"China is praying for friendship between the two countries."
SIMMERING DISPUTES
Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao pulled ties back from the brink last month after a rare public apology by Koizumi for suffering caused by Japan's past military aggression.
But tensions persist, putting at risk the growing economic ties between the two countries that generated nearly $170 billion worth of trade in 2004.
Wu, who arrived in Japan last week, had been scheduled to meet Koizumi late on Monday.
She was to have returned to China on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Chinese President Hu Jintao criticised Japan's handling of its war history and its policy toward Taiwan, saying that Sino-Japanese ties could be damaged "in an instant", Japanese media reported.
Hu made the remarks at a meeting in Beijing with Tsutomu Takebe, secretary general of the LDP, and Takebe's counterpart in the LDP's junior coalition partner.
Koizumi last paid his respects at Yasukuni in January 2004.
He has repeatedly defended the visits as intended to honour Japan's war dead and pray for peace.
Beijing had also reacted angrily in February after Japan and the United States put "the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait through dialogue" on their list of strategic priorities.
China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, expressed "grave concern" over the U.S.-Japan move.
Ping!
The three possibilities that occur to me are (1) amateurish attempt at a diplomatic slight (2) a breakdown in diplomatic relations (3) an emergency in Beijing. I hope it is (1), but I think (2) is small but real possibility. I doubt it is (3) since according to this Reuters story, she is now going on to Mongolia a day earlier than scheduled:
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO (Reuters) - Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi cancelled a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday and left a day early, prompting a diplomatic stir over a trip some had hoped would help repair frayed ties.
China cited domestic commitments as the reason for calling off the meeting by Wu, Beijing's top-ranking woman and the most senior Chinese official to visit Japan since 2003.
But the cancellation -- a diplomatic rarity -- and the fact that Wu was going ahead with a visit to Mongolia on Tuesday clearly angered Japanese officials. One called on Beijing for a "clear explanation" of what could be taken as a diplomatic snub.
"The prime minister of the country had made plans for a meeting and it was cancelled for some reason which is not very clear. I think they (China) need to give an explanation," a top Foreign Ministry official told reporters.
"What do they think of diplomatic manners or rules?" he asked. "There seems to be something in common with the recent vandalism against our diplomatic missions," he said, referring to anti-Japanese protests which swept Chinese cities last month.
Sino-Japanese relations have been troubled by a series of feuds including Chinese anger at Koizumi's visits to a Tokyo shrine for the war dead seen by Beijing as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
"Because of work needs, Vice Premier Wu Yi had to revise her schedule for visiting Japan and return to China to handle important, urgent official duties," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Mongolia's Foreign Ministry, however, confirmed that she would travel there as expected on Tuesday.
Koizumi said he did not know why Wu had to leave early.
"It would have been a good opportunity since the meeting was proposed by them," Koizumi told reporters.
"I would meet them anytime if they want to meet," he said. "If they don't want to meet, there is no need to."
Another senior Japanese official said he wanted to keep the cancellation from hurting bilateral ties.
"I want to improve and further develop Japan-China ties ... I want to avoid this from having an effect," Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi told a news conference.
UNSATISFACTORY TIES
A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the cancellation did not appear related to Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni shrine, where convicted war criminals are honoured along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead.
China, where bitter memories of Japan's wartime invasion persist, has repeatedly criticised the visits to the shrine, which Koizumi says are to honour war dead and pray for peace.
"The Chinese side made it very specific that it has nothing to do with Yasukuni," spokesman Akira Chiba said.
Koizumi last visited Yasukuni in January 2004 and he said last week he would make an "appropriate decision" on when to go again.
Anti-Japan protests erupted in China last month, triggered by Tokyo's approval of school textbooks that critics say whitewash its 1931-45 invasion and partial occupation of China and by its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
A senior official of Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party played down the significance of the cancellation but did say that some Japanese might regard it as a discourtesy.
"If it is due to urgent business it can't be helped, but many people in Japan may feel it is rude," Kyodo news agency quoted Shinzo Abe as saying.
Wu, a Beijing high-flyer, has handled crises ranging from foreign trade spats to public health issues. She took over as health minister in 2003 after her predecessor was sacked for his handling of the SARS viral epidemic.
Though she recently relinquished the health portfolio, as a vice premier and member of the 24-member Politburo the former oil executive continues to oversee foreign trade.
In a speech on Monday morning, in which she also reiterated China's commitment to reforming its yuan currency, Wu emphasised the need for Japan and China to improve ties.
"Currently the relationship between the two countries is not satisfactory or benign," she said through an interpreter.
"The maintenance of such a situation will not serve the interests of the two countries. We must change the trend as quickly as possible," Wu said.
"China is praying for friendship between the two countries."
Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao pulled ties back from the brink last month after Koizumi gave a rare Japanese public apology for suffering caused by past military aggression.
But tensions persist, putting at risk growing economic ties between the two countries that generated nearly $170 billion (92.9 billion pounds) worth of trade in 2004.
Reuters
Well, so China is indeed on a predictable path. Disappointing. I want to have some unexpected surprise.:-) Thanks for digging up the follow-up article.
She has now an extra day to burn. She could ride a horse or a camel, while drinking mare's milk.
It is certainly a very, very UN-CHINESE thing to do.
Chinese culture stresses the importance of giving face, even, to one's opponent
I personally thinks that Vice-Premier WU should have kept her appointment.
"It is certainly a very, very UN-CHINESE thing to do. Chinese culture stresses the importance of giving face, even, to one's opponent"
Well, it's certainly not beneath the Communist Chinese leadership. They are running around Asia acting like 2-bit thugs, albeit powerful 2-bit thugs. Their personal behavior is on par with Kim Il-Jong's.
Japan is the only country in the region that can begin to keep China "honest" and deserves our full support.
The US, China, Japan. Russia and S.Korea would eventually work together to find a "BALANCE of POWER " Situation in the Asia-Pacific, one would imagine
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