SUVA, Jan. 16 -- Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Huang Yong on Thursday published a commentary article on the Fijisun newspaper and several other local media, criticizing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the World War II criminal- honoring Yasukuni Shrine and his plan to visit the former battlefields in several South Pacific island countries to pay respect to the "souls" of the Japanese soldiers who died in the Pacific War.

"It is known to all that for over a hundred years, the Yasukuni Shrine has been the spiritual instrument and symbol of Japanese militarism in its war of aggression. Enshrined there are 14 Class A war criminals such as Hideki Tojo and Doihara Kenji and many other war criminals convicted by Tokyo International Military Tribunal after the world anti-Fascist War," the article said. " Nearly 70 years ago, under the guise of establishing a 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,' Japanese militarists waged the vicious war of aggression against China and other countries in Asia, and also brought wars to the South Pacific, inflicting untold calamities on the people of the invaded countries. The Japanese war criminals had their hands stained with the blood of innocent people, committed numerous heinous atrocities and brought indescribable sufferings to the people in the affected places."

Abe's homage to the Yasukuni Shrine and plan to pay respect to the Japanese invaders overseas in the South Pacific region is therefore "not only a brazen challenge to international justice, extreme contempt to human conscience, but also an open profanity to all the victimized people and sheer deception to Japan's civilians who also suffered from the torture of war," Huang said in the article.

"The facts have fully exposed Abe's political attempt to overturn the outcome of the world anti-Fascist war and undermine the post-war international order," said the article. "It would be proven again that should Abe persisted in taking the wrong path, he would eventually be cast aside by all the people who love peace in the world including the Japanese people."

Abe's homage to the Yasukuni Shrine is "by no means simply a religious or cultural matter," Huang underscored, adding that the essence of the issue "is whether Japanese leaders can correctly view and seriously reflect on its past aggression and colonial rule, whether Japan can truly abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and follow the road of peace."

"Therefore, if Japan really wants to win respect from the international community and forgiveness from the victimized people, it has no other choice but to honestly own up to the historical fact of its aggression war and sincerely offer apologies to the war victims," the article said, urging all people in the world who love peace to unite themselves in safeguarding the victorious outcomes of the world anti-Fascist War and maintaining the post- war international order, which were achieved with the loss of lives and blood of hundreds of millions of people.

"We will never allow Abe to turn back the wheel of history. China stands ready to work with the international community to jointly uphold historical justice and safeguard world peace," said the article.