Drafts of a new edition of a history textbook used in Japanese
schools have again sparked waves of criticism. China and the
Republic of Korea say they have been "deeply hurt" by the "twisted
history" in the school books which "again" fail to mention the
atrocities the Japanese committed during World War II.
China has urged Japan to stop hurting the feelings of
the people of all the victimized Asian countries and correct its
mistakes.
Japan's new history-distorted textbook attempts to reverse the
verdict on its history of aggression and to seek
hegemonism.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Friday
that China hopes Japan can deal with the issue appropriately. He
said China hopes the Japanese government should consider the just
appeals of its Asian neighbors.
The question concerning Japan's history-distorted textbook has
long been baffling Asian countries. Japan has been trying its
utmost to play down and beautify its history of aggression and war
crimes.
The growing anger against Japan's alleged denial of its war
crimes comes as Japan seeks a permanent seat on the UN Security
Council.
Liu Jianchao also said on Friday that China is
"strongly dissatisfied" with the rejection of a Japanese court on
the compensation suit by wartime Chinese sex slaves.
The Japanese Tokyo High Court recently rejected a compensation
claim by two Chinese women who were forced to be sex slaves by
Japanese soldiers during World War Two. The reference used by the
court was a treaty signed by the Japanese government and the Taiwan
Authority in 1952, which is "illegal and invalid," said Liu.
The treaty in question was abolished following the normalization
of China-Japan diplomatic relations. Liu called the court's
citation of this treaty a "rude violation" of norms of
international relations.
"We are asking the leaders of Japan and the legal department to
strictly abide by the Sino-Japanese joint communique and fulfill
its promise on the Taiwan issue," Liu stressed.
"Sex slavery was one of the serious crimes of Japan during World
War Two. The Japanese government should shoulder the responsibility
and deal with the issue sincerely and carefully," Liu said.
(CRI, Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2005)