China on Tuesday (Jul 12) accused Taiwan of “political manipulation” after its Vice President William Lai attended former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral - Taipei’s highest-ranking official visit to Japan in decades.

Beijing views the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory, and countries that have diplomatic relations with China usually refrain from having official exchanges with Taiwan.

“After the former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo unexpectedly passed away, Taiwan authorities seized it as an opportunity for political manipulation,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a routine briefing.

“Taiwan is a part of China, there is no so-called Vice-President.”

The Chinese government had already made “representations” to Japanese officials at its embassy in Beijing as well as in Tokyo, Wang added.

Taiwanese officials remained tight-lipped about the visit, likely to avoid further antagonising Beijing.

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But Taiwanese media reported that Lai made the trip on the orders of President Tsai Ing-wen, in what one ruling party lawmaker called a “diplomatic breakthrough”.

While Japan does not formally recognise Taiwan, relations between the two have warmed in recent years, with Tokyo donating several batches of Covid vaccines to the island and becoming more outspoken about China’s growing influence in the region.

Japanese officials have also sought to downplay the visit, with foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi saying on Tuesday that Lai had attended the funeral “as a private individual”.

“There has been no change to our country’s basic policy to keep our relationship with Taiwan as a non-governmental, working relationship,” Hayashi told reporters.

Abe was dubbed “the most Taiwan-friendly Japanese prime minister” by Taiwanese media and he continued to voice support for the island in the face of Chinese military and economic pressure after stepping down in 2020.

But he had a mixed legacy in China, where he was criticised for visits to Yasukuni, a shrine that venerates the souls of Japan’s war dead -- including some convicted by a US tribunal of war crimes - and his death triggered a wave of jubilation on social media. AFP