Mayor of Seoul
Before the announcement of the communique, there were signs to show public anxiety toward an expanded US-Sino relations. PM Tanaka's trip to Peking (September 25–30) was greeted with anger. Taipei delayed the mission of Tanaka's special envoy, Etsusaburo Shiina, so that it coincided with the 41st anniversary of the September 18 Mukden Incident, an infamous episode in the difficult course of Sino-Japanese relations. When Shiina met with new ROC Premier Chiang Ching-kuo and Vice President Yen Chia-kan, he was greeted with rare mass demonstrations. His picture showed up on neither TV nor in the press as opposed to the wide coverage of another visitor, the Mayor of Seoul.