Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda Friday showed reluctance to show direct opposition to a planned referendum in Taiwan in March about a possible application for entry into the United Nations, according to dpa. After his talks on Friday in Beijing with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Fukuda said Japan's stance was that the referendum is a domestic issue of Taiwan. But he stressed that he did not support it "if it leads to a unilateral change" in the status quo. A high-ranking Japanese government official later explained to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Beijing that Fukuda did not want to follow the US and the EU which have expressed their opposition to the referendum publicly and directly, despite strong Chinese pressure to do so. "If the referendum leads to any unilateral action, in that case Japan shows opposition," the official said. "The referendum itself is rather a domestic political issue, it is not a diplomatic action of Taiwan," the official added. The vote is closely linked to the presidential election campaign, so it would be better to view the issue calmly, the official said. As long as Taiwan does not take a diplomatic move, the official did not see the need to show any opposition. Japan consistently follows a one-China-policy and "does not support one China and one Taiwan," he said. "If Taiwan applies for UN membership, in that case we oppose it." The ambiguity of Fukuda's remarks still left Chinese state media reporting that Japan "does not support Taiwan's attempts to seek UN membership through the referendum and moves that may change the status quo of the cross-Strait relations." Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his appreciation to Fukuda's "solemn announcement of Japan's opposition to the UN membership referendum by Taiwan authorities," as the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. "China values Japan's stance of insisting the one-China policy and opposing 'Taiwan independence'," Wen said. Taiwan reacted to Fukuda's remark by saying it is Taiwan's people's consensus and aspiration to join the UN, and the move will not involve Taiwan's seeking unification with China or seeking independence, nor will it change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. "Therefore we urge Japan and the international community to trust Taiwan people's wisdom and respect Taiwan people's rights," the Foreign Ministry said.
