Japan not to invite Taiwan president to 1995 APEC meet

Japan not to invite Taiwan president to 1995 APEC meet

JAKARTA (Reuter): Japan will not invite Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui to next year's leaders meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Osaka, Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said on Sunday.

"We understand China's position," Japanese officials quoted Kono as telling his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen. "We will conduct affairs on the model of (APEC meetings at) Seattle and Indonesia."

When Taiwan and Hong Kong joined APEC along with China in 1991, they agreed only to send economic ministers to forum meetings. This format is also for APEC leaders meeting, with the first one in Seattle last year and the second at Bogor on Tuesday.

The Taiwan issue has clouded recent Sino-Japanese ties. China threatened to boycott last month's Hiroshima Asian Games if Lee attended the opening ceremony. In the end, Taiwan backed down and sent the vice president.

"Sometimes there are unpleasant things in bilateral ties," Japanese officials quoted Qian as telling Kono in Sunday's talks in Jakarta. "Politicians and governments must resolve these issues in a serious manner."

Kono repeated Japan's concerns over China's nuclear weapons testing and indicated this might force Japan to withhold the fourth package of yen loans to China for 1996-1998, estimated at about 80 billion yen ($800 million).

"We ask for China's conscious action," Kono told China. "Japan's national feeling may not allow the aid package to proceed."

Qian replied by saying only that China hopes for an early conclusion of the Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty, now under discussion in Geneva.

In any case, Kono told Qian, Japan would like to finalize the yen loan package before the end of the year.

Foreign Ministry officials would not confirm Japanese news reports saying Murayama would visit Beijing next month.