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Chinese Lawmakers Condemn Japan over Textbook Issue
A leading official with the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, made clear Wednesday China's strong dissatisfaction with and condemnations against Japan over its approval of new Japanese history textbooks.
The Japanese government, disregarding China's repeated representation over the matter and strong opposition by the people in neighboring Asian countries, went its own way to approve the textbook.
The books, compiled by the right-wing scholars, distorts history and beautifies the aggression of the Japanese militarists, thus greatly hurting the feelings of people in Asian nations including China, the official said.
The official said that the textbook intentionally blurs the nature of Japanese militarist aggression. It fails to self-examine the severe disaster the aggression brought about to people in Asian countries. It goes all the way to seek excuse for Japan's aggression, confuse people about the nature of the aggression and cover up Japan militarists' ill intention to annex China in the history.
What the textbook preaches is a defamation against the China's just cause of resisting Japanese aggression as well as a distortion of historical facts that are internationally acknowledged, the official said, noting that people from all victimized countries including China would by no means accept the textbook.
Since April 2000 when some Japanese right-wing scholars began to compile the textbook for the year 2002 and presented it to the Japanese government for approval, the Chinese government and people have made clear its solemn stance many times through various channels.
China has repeatedly demanded that Japan bear its due responsibilities to prevent the textbook from being approved, because the textbook has broadly preached "imperial Japan's view on history," and denied and even beautified Japan's history of aggression, the official said.
Other Asian countries including the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have made strong reactions to the issue. Personalities of insight and teaching staff in Japan have also voiced their criticism.
Under the grave domestic and international pressure, the Japanese government has on many occasions promised to properly handle the textbook issue in the spirit of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and Joint Declaration and relevant agreement. However, the approval demonstrated that whatever amendments the Japanese government had made, it failed to alter its essence of distorting history and beautifying Japan's aggression, the official stressed, adding that the Japanese government has failed to honor its promise.
He noted that the treatment of the history is a major sensitive political issue in the Sino-Japanese relations and Japan's relationship with its Asian neighbors. "We believe the Japanese people can treat the history correctly."
However, the official continued, there are still a small number of people in Japan who are trying to deny and whitewash its history of aggression in different forms openly in order to exculpate responsibility for militarism with this textbook as the latest example.
It has not only harmed the national feelings of the people of its Asian neighbors, but will also seriously mislead the younger generations of Japan, thus leaving a grave hidden trouble in the path Japan will take in the future, he pointed out.
"Past experience, if not forgotten, can be a guide for the future," the official said. Historical facts have proven that militarism has not only brought severe tragedies to Japan's neighbors while threatening world peace and security, but also made the Japanese people themselves suffer.
So, said the official, in view of both Japan's national interests and the promotion of peace and development in Asia and the world at large, Japan should educate its younger generations with a correct historical concept and should never allow the resurgence of militarism in any form.
Only in this way, can Sino-Japanese friendship be continuously strengthened and Japan win trust and respect from Asian countries and the international community, so that it can play its due role in international affairs.
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