On September 22, former President Lee Teng-hui visited Okinawa, Japan for the first time. He was treated with VIP status with more than 400 police protecting him. When Lee met the Governor of Okinawa, Nakaima Hirokazu, for lunch on 24th, Lee Teng-hui remarked “The Tiaoyutai (Diaoyu/Senkaku) Islands have belonged to Japan since long ago,” which is the same remark in September 2002. However, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Lee’s statement as “personal opinion.”