Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue reiterated in Beijing Thursday that the
Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea and the adjacent islands have
been an integral part of the Chinese territory since ancient
times.
Zhang was commenting on
a report that ten activists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong
and Taiwan joined forces earlier this week to sail to the Diaoyu
Islands to proclaim them as possessions of China. It is the first
time activists from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have joined
forces together to set foot on the islands.
"The Chinese government
and people have the unswerving determination to safeguard the
country's territorial sovereignty,'' Zhang told a regular press
conference. Beijing maintains that China and Japan settle their
dispute over the Diaoyu Islands through consultation, she
added.
Also at yesterday's
briefing, Zhang asked the Japanese government to "strengthen
education of its citizens'' and to "abide by the law'' in reference
to an allegation that hundreds of Japanese tourists, including 288
people related to an Osaka-based construction firm, hired Chinese
prostitutes at a Chinese hotel last month.
After the initial
reports surfaced, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said
she regretted "the kind of acts that would damage women's dignity''
and urged Japanese tourists to obey China's laws.
Turning to Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's expressed intent to revisit the
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Zhang said China hopes Japan can adopt a
correct point of view towards history and develop Sino-Japanese
relations with a spirit of "taking history as a mirror and looking
forward to the future.''
According to the
spokeswoman, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday met with Japanese
Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro in Bali, Indonesia, and expressed
China's readiness to develop the good-neighborly friendship with
Japan.
Zhang quoted Wen as
saying that Japan is China's close neighbor, and the relationship
with Japan plays an important role in China's relations with
surrounding countries. The Chinese government is willing to develop
a long-term stable and good-neighborly relationship.
According to her, Wen
stressed at the meeting that right understanding and judgment of
history?are the key to the smooth development of the
Sino-Japanese relations. China hopes the Japanese side could
develop the bilateral relationship on the basis of the China-Japan
Joint Declaration and other documents concerning Sino-Japanese
relations.
The Yasukuni Shrine is
seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime imperialism. Among those
honored there are 14 people designated as Class A war criminals by
the Allies in trials that followed World War II.
Commenting on China's
motives for working towards piloted space flight, Zhang said: "As
with many other nations, China's exploration of outer space is
purely for peaceful purposes.''
In response to a
question on whether China would use its space technology for
military purposes, Zhang said, "I can tell you clearly that China,
like many other countries, explores and develops space technology
only for the peaceful utilization of outer space."
China has always
advocated a weapons-free outer space and holds that preventing an
armament race in space is in the interests of all countries in the
world, she said, adding that China is willing to carry out
effective cooperation with other countries in the peaceful
utilization of outer space.
"China has never and
will never participate in an arms race of any form in outer space,"
Zhang said.
The spokeswoman said
China's tremendous efforts to explore, develop and peacefully
utilize outer space are not in contradiction with?its status
as a developing country.
"Developing countries
also need to develop and improve their science and technology,''
Zhang said, adding that China's endeavor to improve its space
technology not only benefits the country alone but is also
important to the cause of peaceful utilization of outer space by
mankind.
Turning to China-India
ties, the spokeswoman said China and India are satisfied with their
relations and are willing to solve existing problems through
friendly dialogue.
Zhang said that Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday had a "friendly meeting" with Indian
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Bali, Indonesia.
She said the two leaders
met in Beijing in June this year, and the two sides expressed
satisfaction with the progress in bilateral relations since then.
Vajpayee expressed thanks to the Chinese government and people for
their kind reception and believed the visit was a
success.
The Chinese side also
spoke highly of Vajpayee's visit, and held the declaration on
principles for relations and comprehensive cooperation between
China and India signed by the two countries marked a new phase of
overall development in bilateral ties.
Zhang said further
developing China-India relations is in the interests of both South
Asia and Asia as a whole, as well as the world.
In another development,
the spokeswoman said China is concerned over the recent decision of
the Republic of Korea (ROK) Embassy in Beijing to temporarily
suspend some of its consulate affairs.
Sino-ROK relations were
developing rapidly with a frequent exchange of visits between the
people of the two countries, Zhang noted. China regarded the
decision of ROK embassy as unfavorable to the progress of consulate
relations, and hoped that it would not affect the normal contacts
between the people of both countries.
In response to a
question regarding the handling of the illegal entry of incomers
into China, Zhang said China always deal with the matter in
compliance with humanitarian principles as well as domestic and
international laws.
The Chinese Foreign
Ministry has been in close contact with the ROK concerning the
matter, the spokeswoman said, adding her country hoped that the
problem could be resolved properly.
At yesterday's briefing,
the spokeswoman reiterated China's stance on the Dalai Lama's visit
to other countries, calling for all friendly countries to
acknowledge Tibet as part of China.
Zhang noted that the
Dalai Lama was not a purely religious figure, but a political
figure in exile who had engaged in separatist activities for a long
time.
The Chinese side hoped
that all friendly nations would abide by the principle that Tibet
was part of China, and would avoid any activities involving the
separation of China, Zhang said.
Turning to the DPRK
nuclear standoff, the spokeswoman said China has urged the
six-party talks to be continued in order to seek a solution to the
nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula.
Zhang said China always
regarded the six-party talks as an important step towards a
peaceful solution through dialogue.
The six-party talks were
held in Beijing in August among China, the United States, Russia,
Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK).
All sides reached a
consensus on solving the issue through peaceful means, including
continuing the six-party talks.
Zhang said the nuclear
issue on Korean Peninsula was very complicated, and each side had
different views and differences in the process of solving the
problem.
Zhang said China
believed that the best way to solve the problem and differences was
through the mechanism of the six-party talks. Therefore, the talks
should be carried on, she said.
At yesterday's news
conference the spokeswoman announced Chinese President Hu Jintao
will pay state visits to Thailand, Australia and New Zealand from
Oct. 17 to 27 at the invitation of Thai King Bhumibhol Adulyadej,
Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery and New Zealand
Governor-General Silvia Cartwright.
Meanwhile, President Hu
will also participate in the 11th Asian Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting to be held in
the Thai capital of Bangkok on Oct. 20-21.
Prior to that, Chinese
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Vice-Minister of Commerce Yu
Guangzhou would leave Beijing on Oct. 16 for Thailand to take part
in the 15th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Oct. 17 and 18 in
Bangkok.
Zhang acknowledged that
the Chinese side paid great attention to the APEC meetings, as APEC
had made many substantial contributions in promoting the
liberalization of trade and investment in Asia and cooperation in
economic and technical areas since its establishment in
1989.
China hoped that the
meeting could reach consensus on major issues that affect global
and regional development, further promote the growth of a
multilateral trade system, the liberalization of trade and
investment in Asia and cooperation in economic and technical
fields, advance the coordinated economic and social development,
and attain more concrete achievements in the fight against
terrorism, the spokeswoman said.
(Sources including
Xinhua News Agency and China Daily, October 10, 2003)