TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A verbal confrontation broke out Thursday at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport between travelers from Taiwan and China, during which a Chinese woman told a Taiwanese traveler that “Taiwan is a part of China.”
Footage recorded by another passenger showed three Chinese women and two Taiwanese travelers arguing near the boarding area, according to SETN and NowNews. A Chinese male tourist tried to step in but was pulled aside.
Airport police later arrived to assess the situation. While the content of their discussions with the Taiwanese travelers was not clearly audible in the video, the situation did not escalate further.
The clip was later shared widely on social media, drawing comments from Japanese users. Many criticized the behavior seen in the footage and expressed support for Taiwan, with some stressing the importance of Japan–Taiwan ties.
One post referenced the Chinese woman’s remark telling the Taiwanese traveler to “get your politics straight before going abroad,” suggesting she, rather than the Taiwanese traveler, should heed that advice and recognize her conduct was inappropriate. Other users described the language used toward the Taiwanese travelers as inconsistent with acceptable behavior in public spaces and contrasted it with earlier calls by Chinese authorities for citizens to avoid travel to Japan.
The incident reflects ongoing tensions over Taiwan’s political status. On Dec. 10, China released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean restating its claim that Taiwan is part of its territory and opposing any form of Taiwanese independence, according to Youth Daily News.
Taiwanese leaders continue to emphasize that Taiwan is a sovereign country. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has stated that Taiwan belongs to its 23 million people, noting that Taiwan has always maintained an independent cultural and political identity and has never been governed by the PRC, according to the Office of the President.
Long-term public opinion surveys indicate a steady increase in the proportion of Taiwanese citizens identifying exclusively as Taiwanese. According to the Taiwan National Security Surveys conducted between 2002 and 2015, all age groups showed a significant rise in exclusive Taiwanese identification, per The Reporter.
