Abe urges China to maintain free and open Hong Kong
(Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday urged China to maintain a free and open Hong Kong as police continue their crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the semi-autonomous territory.
Abe stressed the "importance of allowing Hong Kong to flourish under the 'one country, two systems' principle" in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
About 1,000 protesters were either arrested or surrendered to authorities last week after barricading themselves in buildings on the grounds of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Some lobbed petrol bombs and bricks, and police responded with tear gas and water cannons in some of the most violent scenes in the territory since protests began in June over a now-withdrawn extradition bill.
Pro-democracy parties won a landslide victory in district council elections held Sunday, showing public support for the movement was strong despite the Beijing-backed government's efforts to contain the protests.
Regarding the election results, Wang, who also holds the high-ranking position of state councilor, told reporters after the meeting with Abe that "any attempts to undermine the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will end in failure."
Abe also raised the issue of China sending ships to waters near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu.
The prime minister also sought the lifting of China's ban on food imports from Fukushima Prefecture and surrounding areas, imposed following the 2011 nuclear crisis.
Abe and Wang, meanwhile, agreed to work on preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Japan as a state guest next spring.
"We'd like to work together for a meaningful visit fitting of a new era in Japan-China relations," the Japanese leader said.
In a sign of improving ties, the countries on Monday signed a bilateral animal health and quarantine agreement that paves the way for China to lift its prolonged import ban on Japanese beef.
China closed its doors to Japanese beef in 2001 when the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, was detected in Japan.
Japan is hoping to resume exports next year, government sources have said, as it looks to promote "wagyu" beef, popular for its tenderness and marbled fat, in overseas markets.
"We look forward to Chinese people being able to enjoy Japan's agricultural products," Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press briefing after separate talks with Wang later in the day.
Wang said they agreed to work toward the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement involving Asia-Pacific nations, at an early date.
The two, who both attended a ministerial gathering of the Group of 20 major economies in Nagoya last week, co-chaired the first high-level dialogue on bilateral human and cultural exchanges, with other participants including education minister Koichi Hagiuda and his Chinese counterpart Chen Baosheng.
"Our people have learned from each other, accepted each other, helped each other over more than 1,000 years...The written characters we use, the rice we eat, the tea we drink are all symbols of our cultural exchanges," Wang said at the outset of the dialogue, which they agreed to hold once a year with the host alternating.


