PRESS CONFERENCE
Tsai Ying-wen,
Chairwoman, Democratic Progressive Party

The speech and Q & A will be in English.

Tsai Ying-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progress Party, will visit Tokyo for talks with Japanese lawmakers ''to understand the Democratic Party of Japan's policies.''

Tsai, defying warnings from Beijing, says her visit to Japan will help improve relations between Taiwan and Japan, contending bilateral ties have been radically deteriorating under ruling Kuomintang Party, President Ma Ying-jeou.

Japan's chief representative to Taiwan, Masaki Saito, resigned recently, apparently after the Ma administration continued to refuse Saito an audience with Ma and other top officials in Taipei after remarks he made in May on Taiwan's status.

Tsai's DPP champions Taiwan's de facto sovereignty, a position that upsets Beijing, which wants to unify Taipei with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Her trip comes on the heels of the DPP's victory in county magistrate and mayoral elections and coincides with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to Japan. Xi is seen as a leading candidate to succeed President Hu Jintao as the next leader of China.

Tsai Ying-wen, Chairwoman, Democratic Progressive Party