China has decided to suspend visits to Japan by its senior officials for the time being to protest former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan that began Sunday, a Beijing-based Japanese source familiar with bilateral relations said Monday.
China has vehemently opposed Japan's issuing an entry visa for Lee, who is scheduled to undergo a heart checkup today at a hospital in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. He will stay in Japan through Thursday.
Since Tokyo issued the visa Friday night, Dai Bingguo, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, has already canceled a late-April visit to Japan.