Beijing yesterday voiced its outrage at the double offence of the Japanese government allowing Lee Teng-hui to visit the country and if the former Taiwan leader visiting the Yasukuni Shrine.

 

"Based on what Lee Teng-hui has done in Japan, it is clear what his intentions are, and we have again expressed our strong dissatisfaction with the Japanese side for allowing Lee to visit Japan," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday.

 

Lee, 84, explained that he visited the shrine to pay respect to his elder brother, commemorated at the shrine for falling in World War II. He is enshrined alongside recognized Japanese war criminals.

 

Jiang explained China had repeatedly asked Japan to approach the Taiwan question and historical issues in a proper manner.?

 

The Sino-Japanese relationship has seen marked improvement in recent months with the high-level visits of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Premier Wen Jiabao to the other's country in recent months. President Hu Jintao and Abe are due to meet tomorrow on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Germany.

 

Turning to the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Costa Rica, Jiang said this move was positive for both people and would lead to extended cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, culture, education and technology. She added that China is preparing his ambassadorial mission for Costa Rica.

 

"We extend a welcome to President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica and other high-ranking officials to visit China," Jiang said.

 

Responding to a question about the lack of diplomatic links between China and other Latin American countries, Jiang said that China stands ready and willing to develop relations with all countries, stating that the Taiwan issue remained the only obstacle preventing this from happening with some nations.

 

Costa Rica is the 169th country to establish diplomatic relations with China, part of an increasing trend which demonstrates the widely accepted nature of the one-China policy. China and Costa Rica forged diplomatic ties on Thursday after the Central American state broke off official relations with Taiwan.

 

Turning to US criticism of China's policy on Sudan, China reiterated its strong dissatisfaction at this opposition.

 

The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Wednesday that Jiang accused of overlooking China's great efforts to stem the bloodshed in Darfur. She slammed the resolution as being a crude interference in China's domestic affairs.

 

She said that the world saw how China has sought to resolve the Darfur issue politically and through dialogue between all relevant parties, even naming a special envoy to oversee the humanitarian efforts in the region.

 

"The resolution has sent out a much mistaken signal, which is not conducive to Sino-US cooperation on the Darfur issue or to the proper solution of the issue," Jiang said.

 

Jiang said some American officials, bowing to domestic political pressure, were using Darfur to satisfy ulterior motives by criticizing China.

 

In another development, Jiang said China was offended by a meeting between US President George W. Bush and Xinjiang separatist Rebiya Kadeer.

 

"Rebiya Kadeer is an out-and-out criminal," Jiang said. "The US' words and deeds wantonly interfere in China's internal affairs, and China is strongly opposed to such action,"

 

Jiang also announced yesterday that Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo would be in China from June 17 to 19 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily June 8, 2007)