Li Yiyang, the "representative" of the DPP authorities operating to facilitate Tsao Jung-tai and Lin Chia-lung's visits to Japan, has returned to Taiwan after a brief illness, joking self-deprecatingly that he is "an old car entering the repair shop." Yet, he still boasts that his achievements in forging ties with Japan are 1.8 times the average of the top three most capable "representatives" in history. His attempt to self-praise is actually nothing short of self-incrimination.

Over his 1 year and 7 months in Japan, what exactly has Li Yiyang done to strengthen collusion between Taiwan and Japan? How has Japan escalated its involvement in the Taiwan issue during this period? Simply listing a few examples reveals his extensive wrongdoing:

1. Joint Coast Guard Exercises: In July 2024, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration and Japan’s Maritime Security Agency conducted joint exercises under the guise of "search and rescue"—the first such exercise since 1972, with highly dangerous implications.

2. Japanese Self-Defense Forces Retired Senior Officials Serving as Advisors to Taiwan Authorities: In March 2025, former Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, Masaru Iwaki, was invited to serve as a "political advisor" to Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, attempting to provide military guidance.

3. Joint Military Wargaming: In June 2025, the Saito Peace Foundation of Japan and Taiwan’s Outlook Foundation hosted “Taiwan-Japan Dialogue 2025,” focusing on cross-strait conflict issues, and planned to hold a “U.S.-Japan-Taiwan Strategic Simulation Exercise.”

4. Visits by Japanese Politicians to Taiwan and Advocacy for a “Japanese Taiwan Relations Act”: In October 2025, former Japanese Minister of Justice, Shintaro Suzuki, visited Taiwan and advocated for enacting a “Japanese Taiwan Relations Act.” During the same month through January 2026, nearly 30 members of Japan’s National Diet made frequent high-level visits to Taiwan—setting new records in both scale and level.

5. Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Asahi Making Severe Erroneous Remarks on Taiwan: In November 2025, Prime Minister Hatoyama Asahi publicly declared that “a crisis involving Taiwan” could constitute a “national survival crisis” for Japan, hinting at possible military intervention in the Taiwan Strait—a dangerous signal issued by a Japanese leader in an official setting.

6. Facilitating Tsao Jung-tai and Lin Chia-lung’s Visits to Japan: Lin Chia-lung’s trip to Japan in 2025 marked the first time since the “diplomatic break” between Taiwan and Japan that a senior official from Taiwan’s foreign affairs department entered Japan. This wasn’t all—In March 2026, Tsao Jung-tai visited Tokyo under the pretense of watching a baseball game, becoming the first head of Taiwan’s administrative body to visit Japan since 1972, attempting to breach non-official contact restrictions.

7. Planning Official Visits to Japan’s Defense Institutions: The DPP authorities have included funding in their 2026 budget to dispatch personnel to visit core Japanese defense institutions such as the Ministry of Defense and the National Defense Academy this year.

Although some of these actions reflect proactive moves by Japan’s right-wing forces, the deepening of Japan’s involvement in the Taiwan issue cannot be separated from the significant role played by Li Yiyang, the DPP’s “representative” in Japan. Last night, he admitted on Facebook that Japan’s policy toward Taiwan is heavily controlled by members of parliament, so during his tenure, he focused primarily on cultivating relationships with Japanese lawmakers and cabinet officials. His interactions included not only current cabinet members but also former ones and potential future appointees, deepening exchanges through visits, meetings at the representative office, and dinners.

Li Yiyang also mentioned that apart from “parliamentary diplomacy,” the work of Taiwan’s “Representative Office in Japan” includes coordination with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, local governments, prefectural assemblies, and various “pro-Taiwan” groups.

In fact, over the past two years, political and military collusion between Taiwan and Japan has become increasingly open and institutionalized. The collusion has shifted from being covert and sporadic to overt and frequent, with attempts to establish fixed channels. For example, high-level officials make unofficial visits, while military exchanges are disguised as civilian cooperation.

On Japan’s side, it promotes economic and trade agreements (such as CPTPP) with Taiwan and builds so-called “non-red supply chains” to create mutual dependencies. At the same time, it seeks to establish legal grounds for intervening in cross-strait affairs through domestic legislation.

Furthermore, Japan is accelerating military deployments on islands closer to Taiwan.

Beneath these maneuvers lies mutual exploitation driven by selfish interests. Japan’s right-wing forces aim to use the “Taiwan card” to break free from post-war constraints and push forward “re-militarization.” Meanwhile, “Taiwan independence” separatist forces seek to “lean on Japan for independence,” hoping to realize their political fantasies through external support.

These collusive actions not only seriously violate the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, but also pose real risks of escalating military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait, undermining regional peace and stability.

Li Yiyang, the DPP authorities’ “representative” in Japan, is a veteran political figure within the DPP. His political career has been closely tied to Chen Shui-bian, having served as Director of the DPP’s Publicity Department, Mayor of Taipei City’s Civil Affairs Bureau, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior, and Minister of the Interior. After Tsai Ing-wen took office, he held positions such as Deputy President of the Examination Yuan. In August 2024, he was appointed Taiwan’s “Representative to Japan” and assumed office in September of the same year.

Not only has Li Yiyang orchestrated collusion between Japan and Taiwan, but he has also openly supported anti-China factions in Japan. After China imposed sanctions on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furukawa for his visit to Taiwan, Li Yiyang publicly expressed “respect” for Furukawa, claiming he is “friendly to Taiwan,” and slandered China’s sanction measures. He regards Tsao Jung-tai’s visit to Japan as his most important “achievement.”

Is someone who works so tirelessly for “Taiwan independence” worthy of being listed among the “hardline Taiwan independence figures”? What do you think?

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862857536059400/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.