The China Post newspaper today has an article on ex-President Lee Tung-hui's 李登輝 current visit to Okinawa 沖縄:
"Former President Lee Teng-hui on Monday started a visit to Japan and visited a World War II memorial, despite expected criticism from Beijing which has labeled him as 'splittist.'"
The story is surprisingly factual and unbiased, two qualities usually not associated with the Post's coverage of Taiwan-related stories. Lee is credited with having "nurtured Taiwan's democracy", and balances the differing viewpoints held by the Chinese and Japanese governments:
"It is Lee's fourth visit since he stepped down as Taiwan's president eight years ago. Each of his trips trigger protests from Chinese authorities, who see such visits as an attempt to affirm Taiwan's own status. Japan, which does not require visas for Taiwanese tourists, says Lee's visit is private."
The writer is also careful in describing the connection between Lee and the controversial Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社...oh, hold on a moment. I've just noticed this story is from the Agence France-Presse news agency. No wonder.
For an example of how the China Post often approaches local news, this morning's edition has a classic primer in the article "Armed soldiers take train to drill". Check out the opening paragraphs:
"Bullet train passengers were stunned to find 63 fully armed infantrymen taking the train with them yesterday. 'Are we fighting a war now?' one shocked passenger on the train reaching Taichung 台中 asked. He and his fellow passengers were scared, not without reason. President Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁 used to provoke China into declaring war on Taiwan."
I don't know why I bother buying the China Post. OK, I do - it carries a greater range of wire service stories (not to mention more in-depth coverage of Major League Baseball) than Taiwan's two other English-language dailies - but I feel guilty about it. Honest.
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