Ｆｏｒｍｅｒ Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ Ｍｉｎｉｓｔｅｒ ｏｆ Ｈｅａｌｔｈ ａｎｄ ＷｅｌｆａｒｅＫｅｉｇｏ Ｏｕｃｈｉ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， Keigo Ouchi， former Japanese minister of health and welfare and former chairman of the Japanese Democratic Socialist Party， and his wife paid a visit to Shanghai， Hangzhou and Beijing from June 12 to 18， 2004. CJFA President Song Jian met with and entertained Keigo Ouchi and his wife. Wang Zaixi， deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council， briefed them about China’s principled stand on the Taiwan issue. Leading officials of the Development Research Centre of the State Council and the Shanghai Municipal State-own Assets Supervision and Administration Commission respectively briefed them about China’s economic construction and labour and social security system. Ouchi gave a speech on the Japanese political and economic situation in Hangzhou.

CJFA President Song Jian Meeting with Keigo Ouchi

On the evening of June 17 CJFA President Song Jian met with and entertained Keigo Ouchi and his wife at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing. Song expressed his welcome to Ouchi’s visit to China and spoke highly of Ouchi’s contributions to the development of Sino-Japanese relations. Song said， since the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations， through concerted efforts of the two governments and peoples， Sino-Japanese relations have become quite close. Bilateral economic and trade relations and exchanges of personnel have increased greatly and reached unprecedented level. The healthy development of Sino-Japanese friendly relations has not only brought substantial benefits to the peoples of the two countries， but also made important contributions to peace， stability and development of Asia and the whole world. Under the new historical conditions， through joint efforts of the two countries Sino-Japanese relations are expected to achieve a greater development.

Keigo Ouchi expressed his thanks to the CJFA for its warm reception， and his full agreement to what Song Jian had said. He said， Japan and China， two big countries and close neighbours in Asia， should cooperate with each other to gain mutual benefits. He is willing to continue to work for the cause of Japan-China friendship.

Briefing about China’s Policy on the Taiwan Issue

On the morning of June 18， Wang Zaixi， deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council， met with Keigo Ouchi and briefed him about China’s policy on the Taiwan question. Wang said， the Taiwan question is an important issue to the Chinese government and people. Mr. Deng Xiaoping once said， resolution of the Taiwan question and realization of reunification of the motherland is first a matter of national sentiments. Wang said， at present the Taiwan question is faced with a grim situation. The Taiwan authorities are constantly creating troubles and carrying out splittist activities at the time when we hope to concentrate on developing economy in the peaceful environment. Our policy on the resolution of the Taiwan question is: 1. We will adhere to the one-China principle and resolutely oppose any activities of the Taiwan authorities aimed at creating “two Chinas” or “one China， one Taiwan” and pursuing “Taiwan independence”， and any attempts to split Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. We will never make any compromises or concessions on the one-China principle. It is a vital matter of principle. 2. We will continue to adhere to the policy of peaceful reunification and one country， two systems， and work in utmost sincerity and do all we can to strive for a peaceful resolution. So long as the Taiwan authorities do not openly pursue “Taiwan independence”， nor go too far on the road of “Taiwan independence”， we will try to avoid the use of force， but will never undertake to renounce the use of force， for if we undertake to renounce the use of force， the “Taiwan independence” force and Taiwan splittists will even have nothing to fear in the knowledge of it. 3. We will further promote people-to-people exchanges across the Taiwan Straits， and continue to carry out all-round exchanges across the Straits in the economic， trade， cultural and academic fields. 4. We firmly oppose any splittist activities of “two Chinas”， and “one China， one Taiwan” that the Taiwan authorities conduct in the international community. We will not object to Taiwan region’s non-official exchanges in the economic， trade， cultural， sports and other fields with any foreign countries， but we firmly oppose the Taiwan authorities making any official contacts with any foreign country， and joining any international organizations that only a sovereign state can join such as the United Nations， the World Health Organization， etc. We raise no objections to the Taiwan region joining international nongovernmental organizations such as the International Olympic Committee， the World Trade Organization， the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in the name of China Taipei or other suitable names.

On the issue of some countries including the United States and Japan supporting Taiwan to join the WHO as an observer， Wang said， the WHO， a formal official organization directly under the UN， is an international organization that only a sovereign state can join. Therefore， we oppose Taiwan joining the WHO whether as a full member or an observer. Wang said， we welcome Taiwanese medical and health experts as members of the Chinese delegation to attend the WHO conferences. The channel for Taiwan region to get all kinds of information of the WHO， and the channel for exchanges across the Straits in medical care， epidemic prevention and health are wide open.

Ouchi Giving a Speech

On the afternoon of June 15， Keigo Ouchi gave a speech at the Zhejiang Provincial Library on the Japanese political and economic situation and Japan-China relations. On the Japan-China relations， Ouchi said， Japan and China， two close neighbours， should learn from each other’s strong points to offset its own weaknesses， and thus benefit each other. This is beneficial not only to Japan and China， but also to Asia and the world at large. Japan should take the road of peaceful development， and with its economic strength and technological advantages make contributions to the international community.

Ouchi admired the amazing achievements China had made in the economy， and reminded China to draw lessons from Japan’s bubble economy so as to avoid following the same road to ruin that Japan had taken. Ouchi expressed his appreciation of Premier Wen Jiabao’s suggestion of 7 percent of economic growth rate this year， and said， this growth rate is reasonable， which can both maintain the momentum of fast growth of China’s economy， and avoid a large number of unemployment resulted from economic slowing down. Ouchi encouraged the younger generation to succeed to the cause that the older generation had passed onto them， and continue to make contributions to the development of Japan-China relations and the cause of Japan-China friendship.

On departure， Ouchi again spoke highly of the economic achievements China made by relying on its own efforts， and expressed his understanding and support of China’s policy on peaceful reunification of the motherland， and said that after returning home he would continue to work for the cause of Japan-China friendship and do what he can for China’s peaceful reunification.