Amid the diplomatic fallout between Tokyo and Beijing, Hunanese accountant Echo He feels relieved she has chosen Southeast Asia for her year-end trip with her husband and colleagues, instead of the popular choice, Japan.
The latest spat between both nations arose on November 7 when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could deploy its military forces in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
This infuriated Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
On November 17, China’s foreign affairs ministry and the Chinese embassy in Japan warned its citizens against travelling to the country in the near future as the situation presented “significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan”.
He, 36, told This Week in Asia from Singapore’s Gardens By The Bay that she had booked the two-day trip, her first to the city state, before the boycott began. She had chosen Singapore as she had heard that it was easy to navigate as a Mandarin speaker.
“People are now a little nervous about going to Japan, there might be some unfriendliness towards us. But Singapore is easy and comfortable,” said He, who was headed to Malaysia after her Singapore jaunt.