Ex-Japan PM Taro Aso to visit Taiwan next week as ruling LDP vice head

Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is currently serving as vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will visit Taiwan next week, the party announced Friday in a move that triggered a backlash from China.Aso, 82, will be the highest-ranking LDP member to visit Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Communist-led China regards as its own territory, since Tokyo switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing in 1972, according to the party.During his planned three-day trip through Wednesday, Aso plans on Tuesday to hold separate meetings with Taiwanese President Ts…READ FULL ARTICLE