Chinese diplomatic experts said on Monday that the blatant and
repeated provocative remarks distorting history made by Japanese
Foreign Minister Taro Aso have severely offended the Chinese people
and would gravely worsen the already frosty China-Japan
relations.
Aso said in Fukuoka on Saturday: "Thanks to the significant
improvement in educational standards and literacy (during the
colonization), Taiwan is now a country with a very high education
level and it keeps up with the current era."
An Ran, an expert on Taiwan's anti-Japanese movement, said that
during the 50-year-long Japanese rule in Taiwan, the Japanese
imperialists not only deliberately imposed its culture on local
people but also strained every nerve to suppress the spread of
Chinese traditional culture, enslaving and assimilating Taiwan
people through ideological and spiritual movements.
"These movements greatly infringed upon the traditional culture
and the independent ethnic spirit cherished by the Taiwan people,
and brought about a grave disaster rather than contributing to
Taiwan society," An said.
Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China. In 1895, after a
war of aggression against China, Japan forced the Qing government
to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki and forcibly occupied
Taiwan.
Following Japan's World War II defeat in 1945, Taiwan was
returned to China, as ordered by the Potsdam Proclamation and the
Cairo Declaration.
Aso also said last October, shortly after assuming office, that
China and the Republic of Korea were the only countries in the
world to be fussy about the Yasukuni Shrine visits.
At the end of last year, Aso attacked China by saying it "is
beginning to pose a considerable threat."
On January 28, Aso said that a visit to the controversial shrine
by the emperor "would be the best." On Saturday, Aso, once again,
made absurd remarks glorifying Japan's invasion history.
"Aso's derogatory remarks reflect the mindset of Japan's
right-wing forces," Liu Jiangyong, a professor from Qinghua
University in Beijing, said.
Experts pointed out that since China and Japan normalized ties
in 1972, the issue of recognition of Japan's invasion of China and
the Taiwan issue have long been elements affecting China-Japan
relations.
"Aso's remarks, which connected with the invasion issue and the
Taiwan issue, are an obvious provocation to China and a brazen
challenge to the basis of bilateral ties," Liu, who has studied
China-Japan relations for more than a decade, said.
Yao Wenli, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, said China-Japan relations should be based on the correct
review of history, which can be summarized as "taking history as if
it is a mirror, and looking forward to the future."
"But the senior Japanese diplomat took an incorrect view of
history, sweetening the history of aggression and calling Taiwan 'a
country'," Yao said, adding Aso's act was a violation of the spirit
of the China-Japan Joint Statement and the commitment of the
Japanese government.
"As foreign minister, Aso is in the position to mend the soured
China-Japan relations. But the fact is, he is not a peace-maker,
but a trouble-maker," Liu said, likening Aso's act to "pouring oil
on the fire".
The fact that Japan does not correctly deal with the historical
issue has also aroused the interest of the international
community.
At the recently-concluded 42nd Munich Conference on Security
Policy on Sunday, a group of delegates, led by a German delegate,
asked deputy Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki: "Why does
Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi keep visiting the shrine that
honors convicted Class-A war criminals?"
Experts maintained that Aso's defiant remarks also reflect his
personal political ambition. "To win political competition, Aso has
taken a hard-line attitude toward China, in a bid to win over the
Japanese right-wing and create an image of a tough politician," Liu
said.
Koizumi and Aso had stated earlier this year that Japan would
further enhance its "friendly", "cooperative" ties with China into
the future, saying it is an "unshakable" principle of his
government. However, experts said Japan's behavior differs
widely from such a statement and makes people doubt its
sincerity to improve China-Japan relationship.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2006)