The "depth of the ring time" frequently hypes "evacuation of overseas Chinese", why is Japan in a hurry to play the "Taiwan card"?

Source: Global Times

August 15 is the day of Japan's defeat and surrender (Japan's name is "The Anniversary of the End of the War"). At such a moment when the history of colonial aggression should have been thoroughly reflected upon, some Japanese politicians are still contemplating how to follow the United States closely and play the "Taiwan card" against China: Before US Congressional Speaker Pelosi sneaked into power, the visiting group of Japanese parliamentarians led by former Defense Ministers Shigeru Ishiba and Yasuichi Hamada -- the "Meeting of Parliamentarians Thinking about Japan's Security Guarantees" began to use the topic of "evacuating overseas Chinese" to render "if there is something in Taiwan, there is something for Japan." Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reorganized his cabinet on the 10th and appointed Yasuichi Hamada, who had returned from Taiwan, as Minister of Defense; Keiji Furuya, president of the "Japan-China Parliamentarians' Earnest Talks" who planned to sneak away from Taiwan, also held talks with the DPP "legislators" who were "visiting Japan" on 8 July, talking about the importance of "parliamentarian diplomacy" between "Japan and Taiwan." After an interview and investigation, a reporter from the Global Times found that Japan's influence in Taiwan has a long history and is entangled, and the assassination and death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has close ties to Taiwan, will not affect the so-called "Japan-Taiwan relations" in essence. For a long time to come, these forces will continue to sabotage the great cause of peaceful reunification of the two sides of the strait, and it is worthy of our high vigilance.

This is not the first time that Japan has hyped up "evacuation" from Taiwan

At the end of July, shigeru Ishiba and others once again advocated the so-called "evacuation of overseas Chinese" in order to exaggerate the "tension in the Taiwan Strait" during their visit to Taiwan, claiming that "drawing up a plan for the evacuation of overseas Chinese is the responsibility of the state for the protection of the people, and the government has an unshirkable responsibility," that "there are many Japanese overseas Chinese in Taiwan, and they must also shoulder the main responsibility for the evacuation of overseas Chinese, and at the same time they must consult with other countries." They also said that "the evacuation of overseas Chinese must be carried out in simulated exercises and must cooperate with Taiwan." Taiwan's Zhongshi News Network quoted Shigeru Ishiba as saying that the withdrawal plan is Japan's responsibility for the protection of the people, and it is hoped that relevant discussions will be held within the Liberal Democratic Party.

Yasuichi Hamada, who was once again the Minister of Defense, came from a political family and belonged to a Japanese politician whose father and son were both extremely "friendly", and also had certain connections in Japan. According to media reports on the island of Taiwan, in 1973, the year after the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, Koichi Hamada, the father of Yasuichi Hamada and who had been elected to the Japanese House of Representatives many times, and Japanese right-wing politicians formed a so-called "visiting delegation for the first anniversary of the severance of diplomatic relations between Japan and the "Republic of China"" to visit the Taiwan region.

Okada, a guest commentator at Japan's Kyodo News Agency and a well-known expert on the Taiwan issue, told the Global Times reporter that the evacuation remarks of Shigeru Ishiba and others were "very cunning," and under the packaging of "humanitarianism," the "political color" was diluted to a certain extent. However, when talking about the "evacuation of overseas Chinese", Shigeru Ishiba also admitted that there are many problems that are difficult to solve. Okada believes that this shows that assuming that "there is something wrong in Taiwan," the Japanese stranded in Taiwan may have to "find their own way."

This is not the first time in recent years that Japan has hyped up "evacuation of overseas Chinese." Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshinori claimed on November 25, 2021, that in the event of any "emergency" in Taiwan, the Japanese side would take all measures, including evacuating Japanese citizens in Taiwan. He also said in a vague manner: "In view of the nature of the matter, no specifics will be given". Kyodo News Agency also reported on December 29 last year that overseas Chinese in Taiwan and Japan began to prepare for "emergencies" in the Taiwan Strait, and Japanese-funded enterprises and nongovernmental overseas Chinese groups practiced on their own how to contact and take countermeasures on the premise of "assuming responsibility and taking responsibility." According to relevant reports, although the Japanese government claims that the protection of overseas Chinese will strive to be foolproof, because Japan has no "official ties" with the Taiwan region, the evacuation of overseas Chinese will also be restricted. The report gave the example of a Japanese bank, saying that "all employees set up an emergency contact network and carried out evacuation drills in accordance with the crisis response manual." Relevant people from Japanese overseas Chinese groups also said that the evacuation of overseas Chinese by ship from the eastern coast of Taiwan on the Pacific side after the "sudden incident" is a more "realistic option." At the beginning of this year, the Japanese media once again used the excuse of "taiwan has a problem" to hype up the issue of "evacuation of overseas Chinese."

According to the statistics of the "Japan Taiwan Exchange Association" (hereinafter referred to as the "Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association"), the number of Japanese overseas Chinese in Taiwan, including short-term stays, is about 20,000, and business people and their families account for most of them. Kyodo News Agency said that the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association called on Japanese who stayed in Taiwan for more than three months to register in order to establish a network of contacts, and the attitude toward evacuation was "basically relying on their own efforts." In response to the "sudden situation," The Tainan City Japanese Association, a non-governmental organization, was established by Japanese overseas Chinese in Tainan City, saying that they would deepen cooperation with the DPP authorities and the "Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association" to collect and share information.

During the Japanese occupation period, a large number of Japanese immigrated to Taiwan, in addition to bureaucrats, soldiers, businessmen, there are ordinary people from all walks of life, in 1920 Taipei streets, there were even Japanese rickshaw pullers. Public information shows that after Japan's defeat and surrender in 1945, the Nationalist government implemented a strict policy of repatriation of all Japanese residents in Taiwan. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, since March 1946, a total of six large-scale repatriations have been carried out, and about 480,000 people have been repatriated from Taiwan, including about 160,000 military personnel and military dependents, and about 320,000 general citizens. Almost all of the Japanese who lived in Taiwan at that time were repatriated.

Shi Jiayin, editor-in-chief of Taiwan's "Yuanwang" magazine, said in an interview with a Global Times reporter that after the war, there were at most more than a thousand Japanese people who were "naturalized" to Taiwanese, and most of them were Japanese women married to Taiwanese. Analysis of archival data shows that under the circumstances of that year, it was difficult for Japanese and their descendants to survive, and there were probably very few people who remained in Taiwan to continue their lives.

In the years that followed, some Japanese businessmen stayed in Taiwan because of "some earnings." According to a friend living in Taipei, the places where Japanese expatriates and Japanese companies in Taiwan are concentrated are in the area of Linsen North Road and Zhongshan North Road. In particular, there are several "lanes" (alleys) on Linsen North Road, which used to be very lively, attracting many tourists and diners, because they are all East Asian looks, and only by listening to talk can you tell whether it is Japanese or not. There is a video on social networks with the title "Linsen North Road!" The Japanese opened izakayas are more Japanese than Japan! 》。 Zhongshan North Road used to build dormitories for Japanese civil servants during the Japanese occupation. In the 1960s and 1970s, japan recovered from its defeat in the war, and business dealings with Taiwan increased, and as the number of Japanese remaining on the island increased, some Japanese-style houses in The Streets gradually became Japanese bars for them to talk about business and recreation.

According to Shi Jiayin, the news that "the number of Japanese descent in Taiwan has skyrocketed" for some time is mainly related to the taiwan authorities and some non-governmental figures who are pouring out their favors and flattering the day, and even the awakening of "imperial taiwan independence." These "imperial taiwan independence advocates" advocate and claim that "Taiwan's sovereignty is undecided," "Taiwan is not China's territory," "The Taiwan nationality is not a Chinese nationality," "The Taiwanese are not Chinese," and so on, holding that China does not allow "Taiwan independence," so Taiwan must rely on foreign countries and must be pro-American and pro-Japanese.

For the Japanese, Taiwan is "like home"?

In Shi Jiayin's view, Japanese residents in Taiwan are roughly divided into political purposes and commercial and daily life purposes, the former including Japanese expatriates and those who explicitly and covertly support "Taiwan independence." For the latter, the Japan Times once said that Taiwan is "like home" to the Japanese. Toshiro Tada, who is the general manager of Japan Airlines' Taiwan branch, once said that he was as comfortable and happy to come to Taiwan as if he were immersed in warm water, "so he decided to quit his job and retire early and stay in Taiwan." Before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the number of Japanese tourists visiting the island of Taiwan increased every year, exceeding 2 million in 2019.

The Japanese love Taiwan, perhaps willing to immerse themselves in the "beautiful dream" of "great Japanese imperialism." The Japan Times once published an article unashamedly stating that the Taiwan region was "Japan's territory" for 50 years, and surprisingly, Taiwan "became better than worse" under the colonialism that Began in 1895 by Japanese imperialism... "The Japanese look down on the Taiwanese in their bones." Shi Jiayin said that in terms of "joint confrontation Chinese mainland," Japan's collusion with the Taiwan authorities is mainly in intelligence, but it is not afraid to formally include Taiwan in the so-called "security system" so as not to be involved in the war against Chinese mainland by the "Taiwan independence" forces.

for "taidoku" molecular appropriation Japan "proxy"

The Liberal Democratic Party's Qinghe Policy Research Association (now the "Abe faction") has deep ties with Taiwan, and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated, had a very good "personal relationship" with the Tsai Ing-wen authorities. After resigning, Abe served as an advisor to the Japan-China Parliamentarians' Earnest Discussion Meeting, and in July last year, he attended the first "Japan-U.S.-Taiwan Parliamentarians' Strategic Dialogue" hosted by the "pro-Taiwan" organization. Abe directed the farce with more than 30 members of the National People's Congress from Japan, including former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Senator Haggetty, and Taiwan's "Legislative Yuan" President You Xikun. Shinzo Abe frequently carried out activities in the name of the "Japan-China Parliamentarians' Earnest Discussion Meeting" and expressed his intention to "visit Taiwan" after the dust settled on the house election.

During Abe's term of office, there have also been early moves on the Taiwan issue, and the Taipei-based "Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association" is a major grasp of it. During his two terms as prime minister, Mr. Abe sent foreign ministry officials from the "China School" to Taiwan to hold important posts in the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. The influence of the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the "Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association" in Taiwan cannot be ignored; they have opened up and maintained contacts in various circles in Taiwan, have close relations with the DPP authorities, and have colluded with "Taiwan independence" elements. For example, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs once arranged for Qiu Yiren, a "Taiwan independence" element who is regarded by the DPP as the "number one military division," to go to Hokkaido University in Japan for "exchanges" as a "visiting scholar."

In 2017, Japan renamed the "Exchange Association" to the "Japan Taiwan Exchange Association" on the grounds of "low recognition", added "Japan" and "Taiwan" to the name of the organization, and designed the Japanese national flower cherry blossom and the plum blossom representing the Taiwan region into the association logo. This name change is regarded by the outside world as the biggest breakthrough in bilateral relations since the "severance of diplomatic relations" between Japan and Taiwan. In March of the same year, Jiro Akama, then vice minister of general affairs, visited Taiwan to participate in an event organized by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. Japanese media said that this is the first time since the "severance of diplomatic relations" in 1972 that a senior Japanese government official has "channeled Taiwan for official reasons" in an attempt to raise the level of exchanges between Japan and Taiwan. The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction with Japan's series of erroneous acts and urges the Japanese side not to send the wrong message to the Taiwan authorities and the international community.

In June, a Taiwanese correspondent for Japan's Sankei Shimbun said on social media that a group called the Friends of Abe Shinzo association was founded on the island of Taiwan. The organization is chaired by Chen Tangshan, who served as "foreign minister" and "secretary general of the National Security Council" during the Chen Shui-bian period, and is dominated by "pro-Japanese" politicians, business operators, and scholars, including Li Yuanzhe, former president of the "Academia Sinica," Cheng Zhongmo, former vice president of the "Judicial Yuan," Zhang Xueshun, chairman of Taipei 101, Li Shihui, chairman of the Taiwan Japan Research Institute, and Luo Fuquan, former "representative in Japan." After Abe's death, more than 10 non-governmental organizations and enterprises, including the Hatta and One Culture and Art Foundation and the Taiwan Heritage Foundation, "mourned" in Taiwan. According to Japanese media reports, the "Friends of Abe Shinzo Association" will emulate the "Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association" model, and its main activities include holding regular lectures on Japan-Taiwan relations and holding study meetings on the "Indo-Pacific Strategic Concept" proposed by Abe. Members of the "Friends of Abe Shinzo Association" and "Taiwan independence" elements on the island will undoubtedly act as "agents" of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and undermine the great cause of cross-strait reunification.

"Abe died, and this force will not be affected."

In Kishida's much-reorganized cabinet, Takashi Sanae, minister in charge of economic security, was a far-right Politician in Japan known as the "Abe Disciples" who held a "video conference" with Tsai Ing-wen. Speaking about Japan-Taiwan relations last month, Takashi Sanae declared that she would "inherit Abe's legacy and further strengthen relations with Taiwan."

Speaking of the arrangements made by Yasuichi Hamada, Sanae Takashi, and other cabinet members, Okada Chong told the Global Times reporter that Abe's sudden death has temporarily lost a powerful impetus to Japan-Taiwan relations, but Japan, as the pawn of the United States on the Taiwan issue, has not changed its principles and policies of "increasing military spending" and "curbing China" formulated on the basis of "Japan-US strategic cooperation." He said the Tsai Ing-wen administration, which lost Mr. Abe, would pay more attention to Kishida's China and Taiwan policies. At the same time, in order to fill the gap left by Abe, it is conceivable that the Tsai Ing-wen administration will vigorously win over Japanese "pro-Taiwan" parliamentarians, which is also to show that Taiwan, Japan, and the United States maintain "in unison."

Keiji Furuya, president of the Japan-China Parliamentarians' Earnest Talks Association, a coalition of Japanese ultra-party parliamentarians, recently announced that he would visit Taiwan in August with Minoru Kihara, a member of the House of Representatives and director of the Council's Affairs Bureau. On August 8, he also held talks with "legislators" of the Democratic Progressive Party. Analysts believe that after the death of Mr. Abe, who has close ties to Taiwan, some Japanese politicians believe that "it is necessary to open up new channels of contact."

Shi Jiayin told the Global Times reporter that the "diplomats stationed in Taiwan" representing the Japanese government have great influence on the Taiwan authorities, and another group of Japanese who support "Taiwan independence" preach on the island that "Japan-Taiwan relations are so beautiful, and even after Abe was killed in the attack, this force will not be affected." In his view, there are many Japanese people in Taiwan who support "Taiwan independence," but they may not be fully committed, and they are unwilling to offend Chinese mainland in supporting "Taiwan independence" without the United States explicitly indicating that it wants to support them, so that they are unfavorable to themselves. Therefore, the attitude of the Japanese in Taiwan toward "Taiwan independence" is consistent with the Japanese official. Shi Jiayin said, "In the coming period, Japan and the United States will continue to regard Taiwan as an important tool to contain Chinese mainland, which deserves our high vigilance."