A Taiwanese politician's visit to a controversial Japanese war shrine has sparked harsh criticism by his fellow lawmakers and a group of Taiwanese aborigines.
The politician from Taiwan's ruling coalition,Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Su Chin-chiang, visited Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine Monday to honor the Taiwanese soldiers who died while serving in Japan's military during Tokyo's 50-year rule over Taiwan that ended in 1945.
A group of Taiwan's indigenous people and some Taipei lawmakers protested his visit because of Japan's harsh crackdown on several uprisings during its occupation.
The Yasukuni war shrine is dedicated to 2.5 million war dead, including thousands of Taiwanese soldiers as well as 14 Japanese war criminals.
Annual visits to the shrine by Japanese politicians have been a major cause of friction with China and South Korea.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
