Why Xue Jian, PRC consul general in Osaka and true representative of the spirit of the Chinese Communist Party, hasn’t already been booted out of Japan is a mystery. But at least some persons have argued that he should be (Newsweek, November 10, 2025).
The new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, told the Japanese parliament that if the People’s Republic of China were to impose a military blockade of Taiwan, this would likely mean a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. To which the Japanese government would have to respond by deploying its own forces.
Xue Jian’s response on Twitter-X: “That filthy neck that barged in on its own—I’ve got no choice to cut it off without a moment’s hesitation. Are you prepared for that?”
This seems to be about as unambiguous as threats to decapitate people get, which doesn’t prevent Newsweek from periphrastic hedging, talking about how Xue’s statement is “widely seen as threatening toward” the prime minister.
Tokyo announced on Monday that it had lodged a formal protest with Beijing over Xue’s remarks. Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara told reporters the post was “extremely inappropriate for a Chinese diplomatic mission head.”
Xue’s comments drew widespread criticism [from] Japanese netizens as well as lawmakers, with some demanding a public apology or calling for the diplomat to be deemed “persona non grata”—and expelled from the country.
In a follow-up post on Sunday, Xue had urged the public to “stop the arbitrary speculation, expansion, and distortion” of his words.
That’s how the CCP rolls. CCP officials are probably required to study “Gaslight” (1944) as assiduously as any scrap of Xi Jinping Thought.
The Republic of China has responded. “Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the presidential office in Taiwan, the democratically-ruled island claimed by China, said Taiwan’s government ‘takes seriously the threatening remarks made by Chinese officials toward Japan… Such behavior clearly exceeds diplomatic etiquette,’ Kuo said in a statement.”
Yes, threatening to murder the leader of the country where you’ve been sent to ply diplomacy does seem a tad beyond the pale vis-à-vis diplomatic etiquette.
