TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese-Japanese lawmaker Seki Hei arrived on Tuesday, declaring that Taiwan is not part of China and affirming its status as an independent country.

Seki Hei, who serves in the House of Councillors, delivered brief remarks at Taipei Songshan Airport, per CNA. The legislator came to Taiwan at the invitation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy Think Tank to attend a seminar. 

During his brief speech upon arrival, he said he was happy and excited to step onto Taiwanese soil. He said China's government has sanctioned him and prevented him from entering Chinese territory, but his smooth entry to Taiwan on Tuesday “fully demonstrates that the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are completely different countries.”

The councillor emphasized that “Taiwan is absolutely not part of China. Taiwan is Taiwan." He added, “Taiwan is the Republic of China and has nothing to do with the People's Republic of China.”

He said his purpose in coming to Taiwan is to highlight this point and to tell the world that “Taiwan is an independent country.” When asked about the Chinese foreign ministry's statement that his remarks on Taiwan were “not worth mentioning,” Seki Hei replied, “Whether they mention it or not, I don’t care." 

Seki Hei was born in China's Sichuan Province and graduated from Peking University's School of Philosophy, per Japan Forward. In 1988, he went to Japan to take part in a doctoral program at Kobe University’s Graduate School of Intercultural Studies. 

Shortly after, due to the Tiananmen Square crackdown in China, he decided to break with the Chinese Communist Party. He became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2007. 

In last July's House of Councillors election, Seki Hei ran as a candidate for the Japan Innovation Party and was elected for the first time.