China announces countermeasures against former Japan SDF official

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes Shigeru Iwasaki, the former chief of the Joint Staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF), taking the post of so-called "political consultant" of the Taiwan authorities, and the Chinese side has protested to the Japanese side more than once and taken countermeasures against Iwasaki, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun here on Monday.

Noting the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests and is the red line that must not be crossed, Guo said that Iwasaki went down the wrong path by colluding with "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and making provocations.

Guo said that what Iwasaki has done amounts to a severe violation of the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, and a grave infringement on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In response to his egregious moves, China, in accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, announced in the decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs countermeasures against Shigeru Iwasaki for his collusion with "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and provocations, said Guo.