China denounces Japanese move to honour Taiwan independence advocate

BEIJING: China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday (November 12) voiced its strong opposition to a Japanese move to award the Order of the Rising Sun to former Taiwan Representative in Japan, Hsieh Chang-ting, during its 2025 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals.

AI Brief

China criticises Japan for promoting an award tied to Taiwan independence.
Tensions escalated after Japan's PM suggested a Taiwan attack could trigger military response.
Tokyo urges calm and vows to avoid similar remarks after Chinese protests.

“The Japanese government’s insistence on proposing and promoting an award for an individual advocating 'Taiwan independence' is yet another erroneous move by Japan on Taiwan-related matters,” ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said at a regular news briefing.

The comment was the latest in a diplomatic spat between China and Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked furore with remarks in parliament last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation" and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo. That drew a formal protest from China and a threatening post from China's Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, which Tokyo said was "extremely inappropriate" and complained to Beijing about.

Takaichi has since said she would refrain from making such comments again and Tokyo called for mutual efforts to reduce friction on Tuesday (November 11).