(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Do-yeon = The diplomatic secret surrounding the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, who made a dramatic remark last year to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that he would “cut his head,” has been revealed.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 8th that Prime Minister Takaichi at the time designated Consul General Shejen as 'persona non grata' (a person to be avoided diplomatically) and attempted to expel him, but gave up on the plan when China said, "If you expel one person, we will expel two people."
On November 7 last year, when Prime Minister Takaichi said in a response to the National Assembly, "If the use of force is accompanied by the use of warships, this could become a situation of existential crisis (where the right to collective self-defense is possible), no matter how you think about it," Consul General Xue reacted to this and posted a dramatic statement on social media, saying, "We have no choice but to cut off the dirty neck."
The post was later deleted due to protests by the Japanese government.
According to reports, in mid-November of the same year, Prime Minister Takaichi called in a meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara and executives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and said, "Tell them that we will designate him (Consul General Xue) as persona non grata."
This meant conveying to the Chinese side that if Consul General Xue was not returned home immediately, he would be expelled from the country.
The Yomiuri reported that the reason why Prime Minister Takaichi gave this order was because at the time, there were demands from conservative circles that Consul General Xue should be designated as persona non grata and expelled.
However, it is reported that China's response was stronger than expected.
Masaaki Kanai, director of the Asia and Oceania Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who received instructions from the Prime Minister, met in Beijing with Liu Jinsong, then director of Asia at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and said that they were considering the expulsion of Consul General Xue. Director Liu is said to have mentioned the name of the Japanese Consul General in China and predicted, "If you expel one person, there will be two here."
Japan proposed a 'draw' compromise in which one of its consuls general would be expelled from China if Consul General Xue was expelled, but China proposed a policy of 'repaying double.'
Yomiuri reported that Prime Minister Takaichi received this report and decided to postpone Consul General Xue's deportation.
A Japanese government official told Yomiuri that it was because they were concerned that a chain of retaliation would lead to a further deterioration in relations, and that it was a “close call to leave room for dialogue.”
Yomiuri pointed out that while Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks on 'Taiwan's intervention in emergency situations' have been made for over a year, the Prime Minister hopes to improve relations with China, but is showing no signs of responding to China's request to withdraw its response.
It is interpreted that this is because he is conscious of his support base, the conservative class, as his approval rating continues to be high.
