Of course he is. It isn't often you read of newly-appointed diplomats expressing pessimism over their new postings:
"As Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Japan, John Feng believes that strengthening ties between Tōkyō 東京 and Taipei (T'aipei) 台北 is vital to securing bilateral prosperity. 'Taiwan and Japan have a genuine, people-to-people relationship. We are close strategically, historically and geographically,' Feng...said during an interview with The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ..."
After getting off to a rocky start vis-a-vis Japan, both the administration of Ma Ying-jeou (Ma Ying-chiu) and KMT 中国国民党 heavyweights like Legislative President Wang Jin-pyng (Wang Chin-p'ing) 王金平 have worked hard in recent months to repair the initial damage. The arrival of Feng in Japan on Sept. 27 to head up the Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office 台北経済文化代表処 is the latest step in the process. Feng has some personal experience with Japan, having:
"...spent more than five years in Tōkyō with his diplomat father and attended local schools in Minato Ward 港区. During a reception in Tōkyō earlier this month to celebrate Taiwan's national commemoration day, Feng surprised guests by reciting the 1957 starting lineup for the...Yomiuri Giants 読売ジャイアンツ. 'My favorite player was (Tatsuro) Hirooka,' Feng said, favoring the reliable shortstop over superstar slugger Shigeo Nagashima 長嶋茂雄."
It figures a member of a political party with an authoritarian past would've rooted for Japan's version of the "Evil Empire", but I do give him credit for not worshiping at the altar of Nagashima (Sadaharu Oh 王貞治 was a much better player).
Feng replaced Koh Se-kai (Hsu Shih-k'ai) 許世楷, who resigned in June ((though "forced out by nationalist KMT legislators" might be the more accurate description) following the brouhaha that arose (all on the Taiwanese side) over the sinking of a Taiwanese fishing vessel following a collision with a Japanese Coast Guard 海上保安庁 ship in waters around the Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島. In the JT interview, Feng:
"...acknowledged that the territorial dispute (over the Senkakus) is a matter of concern. His stance is that the collision is an isolated case and that the two sides should 'shelve the issue and move on.'"
The article notes that:
"The time-consuming appointment to fill the vacuum left by Koh triggered worries that Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was taking ties with Japan too lightly."
The reason it took Ma so long to appoint Feng to the post was probably due to the difficulty in finding qualified Taiwanese representatives who held the proper Chinese nationalist ideological beliefs. Koh's treatment in the wake of the Senkaku crisis might also have dissuaded some from taking up the position. Feng (of course):
"...said there was no political motive behind the delay (in his appointment). He stated that Taiwan's ties with Japan are as important as its ties with the United States, if not more, and that the ruling Kuomintang simply lacked the resources to find an appropriate representative after being the opposition party for eight years."
So now Feng is in Tōkyō, playing golf with nationalist politicians such as Tōkyō Governor Shintarō Ishihara 石原慎太郎 and promoting "youth exchanges", a typically nice-sounding but ultimately meaningless idea, and therefore an ideal program to be pursued by the Ma administration. Perhaps Ishihara can take a few Taiwanese young people with him the next time he visits Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社!
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