FM: History distortion no small beer By Jiao Xiaoyang (China Daily) Updated: 2005-04-01 06:32
Residents of one northeastern Chinese city have struck a blow in the latest
spat over Japanese history textbooks by withdrawing Asahi beer from supermarket
shelves.
But Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao moved quickly yesterday to play
down the protest saying there is no Japan-phobia in China.
Liu Jianchao
[file/newsphoto] | However, Japan's equivocal
attitude towards its militant past has become a barrier to relations between the
two neighbours, he added.
"There is no emotion against Japanese people," Liu said, referring to reports
that some supermarkets in Changchun recently removed Japan's Asahi Beer from
shelves after hearing the brewery had financed a history textbook which distorts
Japan's World War II aggression towards China.
Changchun is capital of Jilin Province, an area Japan colonized during the
war. "The main cause of the Chinese public's dissatisfaction is that Japan
failed to treat history in a correct, objective and responsible manner," said
Liu.
Asahi Beer's China representative released a statement yesterday denying the
company had any financial connection to the right-wing Japanese history
textbook.
"It is our hope that economic and trade issues are not politicized," said
Liu.
Liu also welcomed popular Japanese table tennis star Fukuhara Ai, who has
joined a club in the northeastern province of Liaoning for this year's Chinese
league. Fukuhara, 17, has many fans in China.
"We hope Miss Fukuhara lives a happy life in China and scores good results in
the Chinese league," said Liu.
He said China does not want bilateral ties to be soured by political issues.
"But the barriers stemming from historical issues are ones we cannot skim
over," said Liu.
Japan's trade with China reached almost US$170 billion last year, more than
that between Japan and the United States. But political ties between the two
Asian neighbours have been strained by historical issues.
A Chinese
man shouts anti-Japanese slogans as another waves a national
flag to protest against Japan's bid for a permanent seat in the United
Nations Security Council in Beijing March 31, 2005.
[Reuters] | The two governments are also experiencing friction over oil exploration in a
disputed area of the East China Sea.
"We demand Japan not to do anything that will complicate the situation," Liu
commented on reports that Japan plans to start oil exploration in the disputed
area.
He also challenged Japan's claim to a 200-sea-mile (370-kilometre) extension
from Okinotori as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). China holds that Okinotori
is a rock but Japan calls it an island.
The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea holds that rocks which
cannot sustain human habitation or economic life are not eligible for EEZ
claims.
"The question shall be solved properly through consultations," Liu said.
Tsunami control
The China Seismological Bureau signed a contract with its Indonesian
counterpart early March on jointly building an earthquake and tsunami
early-warning station network in Indonesia, a project promised by Premier Wen
Jiabao at January's international relief summit, according to Liu.
China's aid includes 10 broad-band digital stations, two back-up stations, 10
strong-motion seismographs and a data-processing centre, worth a total
27-million-yuan (US$3.3 million).
The network will help improve Indonesia's accuracy in figuring out the
positions and levels of earthquakes, said Liu.
(China Daily 04/01/2005 page2)
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