A number of Japanese lawmakers are trying to pass a bill on ties with Taiwan to contain China, warned Li Yihu, dean of Peking University's Taiwan Studies Institute and a National People's Congress (NPC) deputy, on the sidelines of China's ongoing annual parliamentary session.

"Some people in Japan want to play the ‘Taiwan' card. For example, Japan's Vice Foreign Minister, also Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's younger brother, Nobuo Kishi is working on a so-called Japanese version of the Taiwan Relation Act," Li said. "China must take a firm stand and resolutely put a stop to it. We must note how this shows Japan's intentions to use the Taiwan issue to check China's progress and gain the upper hand in dealing with China-Japan relations."

The Taiwan Relations Act is a U.S. law passed in 1979, that allowed the U.S. government to export weapons to Taiwan. China has never recognized the legitimacy of the act.

This year, the relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will continue to progress and both will further cooperate in economic, culture and education fields. It's time for the two sides to sit down and deal with political problems through dialogue, Li said.

It's too early to say if Washington's rebalancing strategy in Asia will play a role in the relations across the Taiwan Strait, according to Li. So far, the policies and speeches released by U.S. officials have not included the cross-strait issue into the strategy, but with the situation in the Asia-Pacific region changing, they may later want to link the Taiwan issue with the strategy.

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