Vice-FM's briefing on Diaoyu Islands issue(2)

Q: Does the Chinese government see the Diaoyu Dao issue as involving China's core interests? What has changed in China's policy and approach to this issue compared with the old days when China said it would like to "set aside the dispute"?

A: In September last year, the Information Office of the State Council of China issued a white paper entitled China's Peaceful Development. The white paper gave clear definition of China's core interests, which include the following: state sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity and national reunification; China's political system established by the Constitution and overall social stability; and the basic safeguards for ensuring sustainable economic and social development.

Regarding the Diaoyu Dao issue, I would like to emphasize that Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands have, since ancient times, been an integral part of China's territory. The Chinese government and people have unshakable resolve and will to uphold the country's territorial sovereignty. One should never question this or try to test it. China's position on Diaoyu Dao has been consistent and clear-cut, that is: China has indisputable sovereignty over Diaoyu Dao. The issue came about because Japan stole the islands from China in 1895, and Japan is still sticking to its erroneous position regarding the ownership of Diaoyu Dao. On the Diaoyu Dao issue, China has its position and Japan has a position which is different from China's, hence the dispute. The two sides may have contacts and consultations, but such consultations must be based on a clear recognition of this basic fact.

Q: Japan has recently played up the acts of violence by some Chinese individuals in protests against Japan. What is your comment?

A: On the Diaoyu Dao issue, Japan has grossly violated China's territorial sovereignty and infuriated the entire Chinese nation, whether in China or overseas. Many have spontaneously participated in large-scale demonstrations protesting against Japan's illegal move of "island purchase". This is something unprecedented in the 40 years of normalized relations between China and Japan. Japan should not focus on the very small number of illegal actions that have occurred under very special circumstances. Rather, it should think hard about why it infuriated the Chinese people and draw some lessons from it. It should reflect seriously on this matter and give a responsible answer to the Chinese people.

As regards the very small number of illegal actions that occurred under very special circumstances, the Chinese government has properly and promptly dealt with them and the wrongdoers according to law. China will continue to faithfully implement relevant international law and Chinese laws, and ensure the safety of foreign institutions and personnel in China. In the meantime, we have seen successive acts of violence and terrorism against Chinese diplomatic and consular missions, institutions and personnel in Japan. Some people have mailed bullets to the Chinese embassy, and others have thrown burning objects to China's diplomatic and consular missions. We ask Japan to take concrete actions to assure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel.

Q: There is news about the Japanese-American trainings in relevant waters. What's your view on this?

A: We are watching very closely what action Japan might take in the waters surrounding Diaoyu Dao, and we will decide what we'll do accordingly. If Japan should continue down the current wrongful path and take more erroneous actions, if Japan should create more incidents regarding Diaoyu Dao to challenge China, then China will definitely take resolute and strong countermeasures. There is no lack of countermeasures that China might take in response. It must be pointed out that the Asia of today is not the Asia of 117 years ago. The China of today is not the China of 1895, or the China during the "18 September Incident" in 1931 or during the "7 July Incident" in 1937. The Chinese government has unshakable resolve and will to uphold China's territorial sovereignty. We have the confidence and the ability to uphold the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. No amount of foreign threats or pressure will shake, in the slightest, the resolve of the Chinese government and people.

Q: The instigator of the "island purchase" Shintaro Ishihara has announced his intention to resign his post of the Governor of Tokyo and said he would form a new party. What impact do you think this move will have on the efforts of China and Japan to handle the Diaoyu Dao issue? And judging from the incident he provoked, what tendency has been revealed about Japanese politics?

A: The right-wing forces in Japan instigated the farce of the "island purchase". The Japanese government did not act to stop this. Instead, it deliberately pandered to it and used it. The broader context of this is the increasing tilt to the right in Japanese politics. You may take a look at what has been said and done in Japan in recent years: denial of the Nanjing Massacre, denial of the so-called "comfort women", disavowal of the Murayama statement [1] and the Kono statement [2], the visits by Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni war shrine, advocacy of military buildup and preparation for war and abandonment of Japan's pacifist constitution. How does the Japanese government react to these dangerous political trends? Will it stop them, or will it pander to them? Countries across Asia and the entire international community, not just China, are watching. In the past, this kind of dangerous trend had created enormous catastrophe for the rest of Asia. So if the current trend is not stopped – or worse, if it is used, pandered to and condoned out of domestic political needs – then the arrogance of these people will be further inflated and Japan will move further down the dangerous path. One day, it is not unlikely that the tragedies of history will be repeated, Asia and even the world will be dragged into catastrophe, and harm will eventually be brought onto Japan itself.

In recent days, senior Japanese officials visited Germany and this prompted me to think about the deep-seated causes of the above-mentioned dangerous trends. Maybe we can compare the attitude of Japan towards its war crimes with that of Germany. The German fascists had waged a war of aggression that created untold suffering for Europe. After the war, the process of reconciliation between Germany and other countries was, at one point, also very difficult. Yet Germany reflected hard on the crimes committed by its fascists and Germany has done some things to undo the damage. One of the things that Germany did was very important: in 1970, Chancellor Willy Brandt, during a visit to Poland, knelt down in front of a memorial to the Jews killed in the war and expressed remorse for the suffering German fascists unleashed on the people of Poland and other European countries. I think it was a sincere and deep act of remorse. Chancellor Brandt knelt down, but I think since then the German nation has stood up and won the forgiveness of many of the victimized people in Europe, paving the way for reconciliation between Germany and other countries. A couple of years ago, Germany even built, in the heart of Berlin, a holocaust memorial to remind people not to forget that difficult part of history. In today's Germany and across Europe, comments, actions and signs that advocate fascism are not allowed. Such things will meet with universal condemnation and even be prosecuted by law.

Contrast Germany's actions with those of Japan's, and you'll see that there has only been a vague recognition in Japan of the nature of the war of aggression it launched. Even to this day, some political figures still visit the Yasukuni shrine, where 14 Class-A war criminals whose hands were stained with the blood of Asian people are still honored. When they visit the war shrine, they are swollen with arrogance and shorn of any sense of guilt or shame or any regard to the feelings of the victimized people in Asia. Given this, how can Japan win the forgiveness of its Asian neighbors? How can it put the mind of its neighbors at ease? If Japan cannot face up to history, do some soul-searching and make determined efforts to correct past mistakes, then even if it may become developed economically, it will never stand up morally and psychologically.

Recently, I came across an article written by Mr. Fumio Matsuo, a former senior correspondent with Kyodo News. The article was published in Japan's Chuokoron Monthly (Central Review) and its title is "Only by Paying the Debt of History Can Japan Have a Future". Mr. Matsuo wrote in the article that entering 2011, Japan is experiencing instability in its relations with China, Russia and the Korean Peninsula and even in its diplomacy with the United States. Japan has run into all kinds of diplomatic problems with its neighbors, because it has not been smart enough to bring the chapter of WWII to a close. Rather it has reveled in the fact that it has become a major economic power. And countries, not just China and Russia, but also the ROK and the DPRK are all asking Japan to pay the debt of history. Although we're talking about things that happened over 60 years ago, people have not forgotten that Japan has not fully come to terms with that episode in history. Japan should have a clear understanding of this. Now it's time for Japan to repay the debt. It should do some serious soul-searching and, on that basis, seek breakthroughs and improvements in its diplomatic relations with others.

I have never met this Mr. Matsuo, but I think he has made some very good points. Talking about paying the debt of history, I think the most basic that Japan can do is to return the territories it has illegally grabbed in its wars of aggression and expansion to their original owners. Japan should not incur any new debt without paying the old debt in the first place. It is high time that Japan did some soul-searching and truly reflected on its own past.

Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun concluded the briefing by emphasizing that China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace, a strategy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbors and the path of peaceful development. China has contributed tremendously to peace, stability and development of the region and will play a bigger and more active role in safeguarding peace and development of Asia and the world at large. However, should anyone try to challenge China's bottom line on issues of sovereignty, China will have no alternative but to respond forcefully so as to remove disturbances and obstacles and move steadily on the path of peaceful development.

Notes:

[1] The Murayama statement: On 15 August 1995, the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Japan's defeat in WWII, the then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued formal remarks on the issue of history, in which he expressed deep remorse and apology to Asian countries and the international community for Japanese colonial rule and invasion during WWII. The Murayama statement has since been adopted as the official position of the Japanese government on the issue of history and been followed by successive cabinets.

[2] The Kono statement: On 4 August 1993, the then Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono issued remarks on the issue of "comfort women", in which he admitted Japan's conscription of "comfort women" during WWII and expressed remorse and apology for it.