The United States has granted a tourist visa to the former president of Taiwan, Lee Teng-Hui, shortly after China protested against a similar move by Japan. The BBC Washington correspondent, Philippa Thomas, says Mr Lee's visit is likely to provoke strong opposition in Beijing. It comes at a time of extreme diplomatic tension between the US and China, caused by the collision between an American surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet. Earlier on Friday, Japan said it would allow Mr Lee to visit the country for medical treatment.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province.
Mr Lee is planning to go the US between 30 April and 6 May and he is hoping to visit Cornell University, where he studied in the 1960s. We consider him to be a private individual. Humanitarian grounds Our correspondent says tension between China and the US is likely to be exacerbated when the US Government makes its annual decision on weapons sales to Taiwan next week. She says the new Republican administration is eager to promote Taiwan's ability to defend itself without signalling any support of the island's aspirations towards independence. A Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington said on Thursday that Beijing was strongly opposed to the visit.