Former Taiwan leader Lee criticizes China over Yasukuni visits

Jun 9, 2007, 16:27 GMT

Tokyo - Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui criticized China on Saturday for making a big deal out of Japanese politicians' visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine, local media reported.

'There is no rationale for a foreign government to say anything at all about or criticize' visits by Japanese leaders to the shrine because 'it is natural to pay homage to young people who died for their own country,' Lee said at the foreign correspondents' club of Japan in Tokyo Saturday.

Lee, in Japan on an 11-day sightseeing trip since May 30, stressed that Taiwan was an 'independent country' and said China should promote democracy.

The 84-year-old former Taiwan leader said Japan over-reacted to protests and diplomatic pressure from other Asian nations, especially China and South Korea, who suffered from Japan's atrocities during World War II.

Visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese politicians, especially by prime ministers, have prompted protests from Asian nations because they consider the shrine to be a symbol of Japan's war-time atrocities.

While he stopped short of commenting on the shrine that honours convicted war criminals, Lee stressed that he visited the shrine on Thursday only to pay tribute to his brother who served the former Japanese imperial navy during the war and who was honoured at the shrine among about 2.5 million war dead and convicted war criminals.

China expressed 'strong dissatisfaction' with Japan for allowing Lee to visit the country but did not touch his shrine visit.

But Beijing called for Japan to stick to respecting the one-China policy, which is stated in joint documents drawn between the two governments.

Lee urged the Chinese government to 'promote democracy and grant people freedom' and said that 'its economy has been growing for now, but no one can predict what could happen in the coming years.'